


Jack of All Trades

by xxPeppermintxx109



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angst, Dark, F/M, I tried to understand nen as best I could I really did, Morally grey OC, Nen user cause everyone uses it, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, flirty gonna kill you, hisoka might be ooc sometimes, mostly my fun side project to satisfy my love for hisoka, non conventional relationship, probably not the most healthy relationship lets be honest, slowest of burns, some gore though cause it’s hxh, some violence, they might attempt to kill each other, wont be too gorey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:14:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25735633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxPeppermintxx109/pseuds/xxPeppermintxx109
Summary: There’s another Nen user in the 287th annual Hunter Exam...though maybe she’s not the absolute best at it. But maybe there’s something about the way her emerald eyes flicker in the darkness. And maybe there’s something about the way she goes through a pack of toothpicks a day. Or maybe it’s the way she torments the pair of children with a smug smirk on her face.Hisoka isn’t sure what it is, but he knows he wants to fight her.
Relationships: Hisoka (Hunter X Hunter)/Original Character(s), Hisoka (Hunter x Hunter)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 165





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my little side project since I restarted watching HxH during this quarantine! I am writing a full novel right now and I realized I needed a creative break before I finish it. So this is my little side project! I’ll update as often as I feel I can. My dear friend is helping beta it, and I’m excited to share this!  
> It is a HisokaxOFC fic, but Chrollo won’t be a relationship. I see a lot of HisokaxOFCxChrollo and I just wanted to write a pure HisokaxOFC fic. It won’t be conventional or a normal relationship, but I’ll do my best to make it as accurate as possible while fulfilling my dreams of hisoka lol.  
> Hope y’all enjoy :)

88

Asuka hummed at the white pin in her hand, her thumb grazing over the black numbers. Disappointed? No. That wasn’t exactly her style. Annoyed, perhaps. She thought surely she had been faster than what she placed in terms of entering the exam. Though she shouldn’t have been surprised, as the preliminary testing to get to said exam came with a few rough spots that greatly hindered her speed. 

The guide had grown on her nerves quickly and she nearly disposed of the man without a blink of her emerald eyes. It had brought up some...obstacles that required her tending to.

“Goodluck, miss!” Beans beamed at her from his oddly green flesh. Asuka nodded her thanks and passed the funny little man to fully enter the sewer like hall. He was definitely a strange fellow but Asuka found him charming when he explained the pin and briefly detailed the exam. 

She liked him.

Asuka fitted the pin over her left breast, doing her best so it did not pinch the skin beneath her black, cropped tank. She did ponder whether or not her regular style was adequate enough for the 287th Hunter Exam, but she rationalized that said outfit had no effect on her outcome. Constricting fabric over her stomach or not, she would be exposed either way. At least the lack thereof was more comfortable and she had a feeling comfort was going to be a better bet for her.

Popping a toothpick between her lips, the woman hummed as she scanned the massive room that she and 87 other participants were in. The walls were made of damp stones and pulled up to curve in the ceiling. There were some metal pipes that protruded and fed back into the walls but Asuka knew not where they led. She had to admit it was like a sewer but it also reminded her of the less well kept train stations in Yorknew.

Asuka twiddled with the thin piece of wood in her mouth and looked around at the participants she could see, hands stuffed in her pockets of her white cargo pants. Blowing a low whistle, she bit down lightly on the toothpick.

In the 87 other people (of the ones she could see of course), none looked rather frightening. Perhaps one of them, a shorter man with peachy hair under a pink head wrap and an arrow quiver slung across his chest, seemed decently equipped. Asuka stares directly at his badge, #53, and committed it to memory. Numbers were always better than faces in her book. If she could often mix up the names of her friends despite years of shared memories, she’d forget the faces of many applicants. 

“A rookie, huh?”

Asuka turned her attention away from 53 and looked to the stout man at her side. He had a large nose that covered his pudgy face and Asuka already did not like the man. She had ensured she was in zetsu but seeing as she was rather akin to a fawn when considering the practice of nen, she wasn’t surprised the man had snuck up on her. She was using too much energy to conceal herself that she couldn’t even pick up on other auras. A rather fickle thing, but something she wasn’t surprised about.

It had taken her 5 years to even get to this point so why was she surprised?

“Yes,” Asuka drawled out, her eyes assessing the man. His pin showed 16 and immediately, it was committed to her memory. Though she was sure she’d not forget his face. A rather unattractive man who made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. She didn’t need to see his aura to know she didn’t trust him, not when his bland brown eyes were far too welcoming.

The man extended a hand with a sickly sweet smile. “I’m Tonpa!”

Asuka stared at his hand for a moment but kept her own where they were. She’d rather not share grasps with this Tonpa character.

“Asuka,” she grunted, eyes roaming over the other participants once more. She was bored already and would rather just go sit somewhere quiet until the exam was ready to begin. It would certainly help with centering herself and perhaps trying to reach out and decipher any auras she could.

Tonpa grabbed her attention once more. “It’s my thirty-fourth attempt! I believe I may even hold the record.” He said it as if it was some fun little secret they could share, or a fun fact during introductions. Asuka could not have cared less.

“Thirty four times? Rather embarrassing don’t ya think?”

Asuka smirked at the sudden apprehension on Tonpa’s tanned face. Good, she thought, maybe he would finally leave her be.

The stout man chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck with a strained smile. “Heh, I guess you’re right there, Asuka!” The woman rolled her eyes in annoyance at his use of her name. It was a mistake to engage in cordial formalities it would seem. The man then lifted a finger as if in an “aha” moment and he shifted his bag so he could pull out two cans of orange soda. “Perhaps a toast? A little goodluck drink shared between friends?”

Asuka deadpanned at the man, growing increasingly annoyed by the passing second. Who fell for that? A man who has taken the exam more times than one can count and far too kind to anyone? No one took the Hunter Exam and enjoyed it that much. She knew from the peeking darkness in his eyes and the way his finger tapped impatiently upon the can, this man had ill intentions with the drinks.

Asuka held up a hand with a sigh. “An idiot you truly are if you think I’m taking a drink from you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do than waste my words with a man who gets off on failing the Hunter Exam.”

The woman pulled out her toothpick and bent it in half before flicking it at Tonpa. She hummed in satisfaction as the piece of wood hit between his raised brows and fell lamely to the floor below them. Stuffing her hand into a new pocket to reach for another toothpick, Asuka swiveled on her heel and began walking towards the wall. She hoped to spend some time reaching out and picking out distinctive auras. If she could, then numbers were trivial. Auras however, she could sense those without second thought. So long as she wasn’t expending too much energy concealing her own. 

Hyro had hit the back of her head one too many times with his stupid, whittled bamboo shoot when teaching her. She knew he would have hit the back of her knees due to Tonpa. But she rather the knees than the back of her skull. 

Asuka hopped up onto one of the sturdy pipes, hooking her leg over the metal so she could steady herself. She adjusted herself so she could lean against the wall with her feet swinging in the air. Her hand came up to the toothpick between her lips and she began to mess with the wood by rubbing it between her fingers. Her eyes scanned back over the growing crowd of participants as more and more hopefuls found the exam site. 

One came in from the elevator, a child undoubtedly, with skateboard in hand. His hair was white and rather spiky, something Asuka found amusing. Massive blue eyes stared out into the crowd and she could tell that despite his innocent appearance, there was more to the kid than one might think. Asuka found his bad quickly on his white tee and the number 99 stood out glaringly. She hummed and continued to kick her feet in the air.

She had no doubt the kid would make it through to the end. 

Curious, Asuka dampened her zetsu and focused on the child who walked into the crowd. She refused to lose sight of him. So, she took a deep breath and allowed her nodes to open back up in her eyes, harnessing Gyo as best she could, so she could see the aura of the curious child. She knew it was a risk in case there were other nen users but she was far too intrigued to truly care.

A burst of vapors exploded in her vision and she honed in on the lifting aura from the white-haired child. She smirked at the strong liquid that seethed from the top of the kid’s head. She could also see that some of it managed to wrap around him, something he probably unknowingly did. He wasn’t skilled in the Four Exercises but Asuka could tell he would be. And he would be quite the talent. Master Hyro would be pleased if he saw the child.

Asuka leaned forward, resting her arms over her knees and began to look around. Most of the participants lacked any knowledge of their auras, some barely flickering in and out. Asuka chewed down on the toothpick with a satisfied smile.

Good, she thought, it definitely meant she had a step up over the others.

But as she looked around, something began to creep over her shoulder. There was no one behind her but it was like a presence had found her own and was watching her. Asuka pursed her lips and slowly took out the toothpick and bent it between her fingers. She needed to find the person who had their eyes on her. If they found her, then she knew they were skilled. That they were perhaps the same as her, probably better. She had taken years to hold strength over her Four Exercises, and Zetsu was admittedly her weakest. So part of her wasn’t surprised that someone would have found her once she gave up her focus.

Asuka flicked the toothpick to the stone ground below and replaced it quickly as she continued looking over the group of people.

It didn’t take long.

A barely controlled wave of bloodlust crashed over her as she met bright amber eyes head on. Asuka winced first a moment and her focus dropped, allowing her Zetsu state to drop completely. Annoyance quickly wrapped around her as easily as her Ten and she huffed. She also couldn’t help contain her frustration that the Nen user was stronger than her, she knew due to how powerful his Ren was. How hostile it was. It was like she herself could feel her taste buds tingling for the taste of battle. For blood.

Asuka leaned back and pulled her knee up to her chest. “How fun,” she muttered, resting her elbow over her knee. 

Her eyes drifted from the heavy orbs of honey and she took in the appearance of the person. His face was painted white, and a pink star sat under his right eye with a blue tear below his left. His lips were stretched into a wicked smirk, one that shook Asuka to her core. She ground her teeth and scanned the man who stood silently almost perfectly across from her in the crowd. His fuchsia hair was spiked up and behind him in controlled waves. His outfit however was quite the site and Asuka rolled her eyes at the clown get-up.

A white, baggy shirt with what looked like a black spade and clove on the front. He had white baggy pants to match. A yellow jacket sat tied around his narrow, pink fabric-covered waist. A pin with the #44 was on his chest.

“Fantastic,” she muttered, tearing her eyes away. “Has a better body than me too.”

The stupid smirk got to her. He KNEW she knew. He knew that she was aware of his Nen abilities. He probably thought it was now going to be some sort of game with her. She knew that there weren’t really any other aware Nen users so she would be obvious competition, she knew that. She’d be fun competition.

A part of her thrived under that tantalizing idea.

She hadn’t truly been challenged since Hyro sent her off to discover her Nen abilities. It was partially why she decided to take the exam. She thrived under competition.

“Hey!”

Asuka turned her eyes down to where the sound came from. The child with wild white hair looked up at her, a hint of intrigue in his big blue eyes.

“Yes, child?” Asuka questioned, curiosity bubbling up within her. She relaxed her leg and let her hands dangled between them. 

The kid cocked his head. “What’s your name?”

Asuka grinned. “I’m Asuka. And you are?”

“Killua,” #99 admitted. Asuka could feel the way his aura wanted to violently whip out around him. She raised a brow at how it reacted around her. Like it knew she could sense it, yet the person it flowed through could not. It was familiar. Curiosity was practically eating away at her mind.

With a sigh, Asuka dropped down from the pipe and bent over at the hips to get a good look at Killua. She wasn’t incredibly tall, perhaps an inch or two over average for women. But the boy was younger, much younger.

“How old are you Killua? I haven’t seen many children, if any,” Asuka straightened back up, her hands stuffed in her pockets.

Killua ‘hmphed’ and adjusted his skateboard in his hand. “I’m twelve.”

Asuka’s eyes widened as she stared at the almost nonchalant child. 12?! She knew he was young but she would have guessed maybe a few years more. Twelve and already so much potential? A minor wave of envy washed over her.

Asuka hummed and patted the boy, as a show of petty power. “So young and so much potential,” she mused, smirking at the annoyance on the boys face. “You best not disappoint me this exam.”

Killua pouted, eliciting a smug smile from Asuka. “Well how old are you?” 

The woman smirked. “That is for you to figure out, little one. A game of our own, as I can tell you’re taking the exam for your own pleasure? We’ll make it fun.”

The white haired boy smirked and nodded. Asuka knew she was right on the spot with her deduction. All it took was a small look into those wide blue eyes. 

“Shall we start playing a game while we wait?” Asuka questioned, emerald eyes twinkling with childish glee at the thought of some fun. She knew Killua would be game. It made it all the more entertaining. Competition was her drive, her will. The child would provide her a good source of fun while they passed the time, for Asuka knew that they would have to wait a while longer before the exam started.

Killua nodded and followed suit as Asuka plopped down onto the dark ground. Ignoring the interested stare bearing down upon her, Asuka pulled out three of her kunais and began explaining the rules of her balancing game to the enraptured boy before her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter but I wanted to get an update out quickly! Thank you already for the kudos and bookmark! It’s amazing that some already enjoy this! I truly appreciate it.  
> The chapters will definitely start out shorter than I normally prefer but once I get further into the Hunter Exam and through that arc, chapter lengths will grow towards my preferred 4-5k mark. I hope that’s alright with everyone. It does mean more and quicker updates for now, that is for sure!  
> Thank you again and I hope y’all enjoy!

Asuka leaned back, playing with her favorite kunai. It danced between her lithe fingers precariously, though her Nen kept it from falling. She blew a bored stream of air from her pursed lips, ensuring to keep her newest toothpick between her teeth.

“How much longer is this shit gonna be?” Asuka grumbled, looking around from their now crowded position. A few examinées had gathered to watch her and Killua play her little knife game, one being a rambunctious and loud ninja. Something of which was such an irony that Asuka actually released a laugh. She had forgotten his number but she didn’t need it. His name was Hanzo and he was quite the sight. She was sure she’d be able to remember him quite easily. His aura was...quite loud. Horrible for a proclaimed ninja.

Killua yawned and leaned back on his hands, legs straight out in front of him. Empty soda cans from Tonpa sat around him. Asuka had laughed when he went back for more and revealed that they were filled with a laxative. She wasn’t surprised the child wasn’t affected by such a thing, furthering her solidifying belief that he would do just fine. “I don’t know but I’m getting tired of these stupid orange sodas.”

“Sure it’s not because you’re upset at losing every single round?” Asuka teased, glancing at the child from the corner of her eyes.

Killia’s eyes went wide and an embarrassed scowl covered his young features. “Baka,” he muttered, looking away from her and turning his head in feigned curiosity.

“Where are you from, little one?” Asuka, genuinely curious, questioned the boy. She wanted to know why his aura acted the way it did. She wanted to know why he was able to do completely fine with the laxatives in his system. He was quite the anomaly and she NEEDED to understand.

Killua whistled and made a brief shrug. “Padokea.”

It was all she would get, she knew that. But a smug smirk lifted a corner of her lips. She knew a specific mountain in that very republic that housed a notorious family. It would make sense. She wouldn’t act on it or say anything to confirm it, but she was 99.9% positive she knew who this Killua child was. It would make perfect sense. 

A certain family of assassins were bound to have a child as bored as him, craving a certain drive. A certain form of entertainment. This is what the Hunter Exam was to Killua. A mere test to see how hard it could truly be. He wasn’t doing it for the license, just for the hell of it. She chuckled lightly.

She always enjoyed reading people.

“Where are you from?” he asked, turning his attention back to her.

Asuka tossed her kunai up in the air and caught the blade between her fingers. She handed the boy in front of her the weapon, letting the handle direct at him. “Where do you think, child?”

Killua looked at her, furrowing his brows and letting his eyes scan her face. She could see the gears turning in his head, undoubtedly working faster than she could ever comprehend. He was a smart and trained boy, he would figure it out. Just like how he was close to figuring her age. He would get it soon, she knew it, but it was all the more fun to make him work for it.

“Yorknew?” he asked, seemingly confident in his answer as he tilted his head.

Asuka hummed as the boy took her weapon and began to twiddle with it like she had done. A cheek-splitting grin crawled over her lips as she noticed him copying her actions to a near T. She knew he was doing it unconsciously too. A talented child indeed.

She crossed her legs and propped her head in her hands. “It’s where I was before the exam, yes.”

“But it’s not where you’re from originally.”

“Nope,” she popped the p.

Killua rolled his eyes. “You’re going to make me guess and you won’t tell me when I’m right, will you?”

Asuka smirked. “Perhaps.”

She could see his stolen smile as he tilted his head down. She rather liked him. Quite a bit actually. She even wondered if he had known much interaction with others that didn’t involve killing or abuse. She could see the sad twinkle in his bright eyes, that he tried so harshly to pin down and quiet. She knew that probably coming from a family like his own, he had not known anything of friendship or kindness. She didn’t blame his family of course, there was no room for that sort of thing in that business. But it did make her frown slightly. She knew that feeling. She had been disappointed time and again by the people in her life for lacking any care towards her own feelings. When she went to Hyro, that was perhaps the most companionship she had ever felt in her life. He was not often kind but when he was, Asuka thought for a moment that she knew camaraderie. Not love. But something akin to it.

But to be honest, she had never found reason to love in her short life. There was no room for it.

Suddenly, a man’s wretched screams filled the anxiety-buzzing room. Asuka’s head cracked up, wanting to know the reason for the confused and utterly painful cries. Killua stood from his spot within a moment and Asuka couldn’t help but join him by his side quickly. The pair stared around but the sight of little pink flowers dancing in the air a few people deep before them alerted her. 

The man was on his knees, eyes wide and mouth open in a gaping maw. She could see the fear leaving him in violent whips, so different from the soft flowers that danced from his ever shortening stubs. A bit away from him, #44 stood, his arms crossed and his Ren was ripping wildly around him. It created a safe and noticeable distance between him and any normal human being.

“How magical.”

His voice was dripping with nonchalant sarcasm, obviously pleased with his little display. Asuka knew then that he was more than she had even began to think. An uncomfortable shiver ran down her spine at the overbearing weight of his bloodlust. He was so pleased. 

“His arms dissipated into petals just like that.” He let his arms spread out, unraveling from their crossed position. “And I didn’t even touch him.”

Yeah you used whatever your fucking Hatsu is, you utter clown, Asuka couldn't help but roll her eyes. His bloodlust may be overwhelming but his high and mighty attitude might be more insufferable. She had to wonder though, with sick curiosity, what his Nen type was. She had not had the opportunity to figure her’s out. But she knew them. She wanted to know what his was. So desperately, because who the fuck can make a man’s arms disappear into petals? Perhaps a conjurer? It might make sense.

“Just be careful. You must apologize when you run into someone,” he warned maliciously, a complete juxtaposition from the smirk on his lips.

Asuka hummed, tuning in to the whispers that began to ferociously circle everyone. She chewed harshly on her toothpick, feeling it begin to give way. She’d have to change it soon.

“He’s...” Killua began, eyes narrowed as the man’s body fell to the ground face first. 

“Impressive,” Asuka finished for him, taking out her toothpick and quickly replacing it with no failure. “Dangerous, but impressive. He’ll get the license.”

“How do you know?” Killua looked up at her, though she knew he agreed with her deduction. They’d be stupid to not think so. Any man who can dissolve another man’s arms could get the license without breaking a sweat and she had to respect it. Stew in some jealousy and be crushed under a pounding bloodlust, yes. But she could do both of those while brimming with respect and dark admiration. 

Asuka picked at the exposed wood. “I always know these things.”

Killua looked at her for a moment longer and seemed to take her answer in stride. He may not have understood but he knew enough that she wasn’t lying. He knew she had her reasons. They both knew it was best to not reveal all. Parts yes, but not all.

“Thirty?”

“Excuse me?” Asuka turned to look down at the boy next to her. “Do you truly think I’m thirty years old?”

Killua bent an arm back and scratched the back of his head with a feigned smile. 

“I might kill you now,” Asuka muttered flicking the boy’s forehead in annoyance. 

“I could kill you first.”

Asuka grinned. She gripped his chin playfully, knowingly eliciting a childish blush of embarrassment. “I know, little one. I know.”

She released him.

A loud ringing let out into the sewer tunnel and Asuka ground her teeth together in annoyance. Why such a glaringly screeching sound? Others didn’t seem to bothered but any sound that seemed like an alarm going off was far too annoying for its own good. She rose with the sun and that was it. No need for unnecessary shit like the blasted ringing going off towards the end of the room.

But the ringing was cut off by a rumbling roar and Asuka watched mildly fixated on the wall that rose into the curved ceiling. Of course, she thought, no exam would start in an increasingly crowded room. There was no easy way in this exam. Something would be up with every phase. 

But how many and what the fuck was the first one?

Asuka couldn’t really see over the sea of people but she could hear a man’s voice loud and clear. 

“Sorry to keep you for waiting so long,” the words were proper and Asuka wondered if the man had a moustache. They usually did. “Now, we have come to the end of the exam registration. And so, the Hunter Exam starts now!”

Whispers erupted and Asuka looked up and over, wondering what exactly was going to happen. She could see no light at the end of the tunnel, just a seemingly endless cavern that stretched further and further the more she strained her eyes. The red lights along the wall, accompanied by the pipes, spanned on and on and her gut began to churn. For the love of-

“Let me remind you,” the masculine voice began again, “if you are not lucky or strong enough, taking the Hunter Exam could lead to perilous injuries on your part, and it could even in cost you your lives.”

“Fat chance,” Asuka muttered, earning a stifled chuckle from her child companion.

“For those who are taking the test in spite of all of that, please come with me.”

“How many yenny would you like to bet that we are going to be running for a bit?” Asuka whispered to Killua. She turned her eyes to the white haired boy, a competitive gleam overtaking her eyes

Killua looked up at her. “I’m no Baka, Asuka,” he rolled his eyes, rearranging his skateboard and handing her her weapon back. “I know you’re right.”

“Hmph,” Asuka frowned. “Disappointing.”

“Well then,” the man announced again, eliciting an annoyed roll of Asuka’s eyes, “all four hundred and four candidates have decided to take the first test.”

Four hundred and four?? Asuka didn’t realize how many people had entered in after her and it was rather troublesome. She should’ve been paying attention and not destroying Killua in her own game. 

“Fine,” Asuka caved, turning back to Killua, “how many do you bet will drop out after the first test?”

People in front of them began walking.

“Drop out or drop dead?,” Killua asked darkly after taking a quick look around the room. “Twenty, maybe

“Hmm,” Asuka hummed. “I bet thirty. Whoever is closest-“

“If I’m closest, I want you to teach me how to use those!”

Asuka grinned and nodded, knowing exactly what the boy was referring to. Her knives were tucked back into their respective holders, sitting in their special pockets. They had been for years. Each knife held a special sheath and a specific spot on her baggy black pants. She knew where they would be and it became muscle memory when retrieving them. Each kunai was extremely different by their weight, texture of grip and their length. Each was for a different use. They were her pride and joy, and she knew she’d do whatever she could to ensure each one stayed in her possession forever. They were all she often had. But she supposed she could teach her little secret to the child.

“And if I win, I want to know your preferred method of killing,” Asuka grinned as they followed those in front of them.

“Deal.”

The pair grinned.

But Asuka’s smile quickly dropped from her paling features as she realized they began to pick up the pace. 

She had never been much of a fan of running, and it seemed the first test would be exactly that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the continued support! A bit of a longer chapter as we build up into the Hunter Exam! Again, chapters will begin to average 4-5k words after the exam, but will be around 3-5k during the exam, it all depends on where I feel is a good stopping point for each chapter. But it definitely allows for faster updates!  
> Next update will come next week. I have to finish some chapters for my book for my editor to look over the first draft. I’ve got 340 pages done for that! End page count should be around 420-480 so that’s exciting!  
> Hope you’re all staying safe and healthy and enjoy!

“I hate this,” Asuka puffed out, already increasingly annoyed by the fact that they had been running for what felt like a century. She was not prepared for this kinda shit. Even with her Ten wrapped warmly around her and pushing her so she didn’t collapse, stamina was not her strong suit. Endurance she never needed. Not when fighting at least. She had been lucky enough to be talented enough to ensure fights started and ended quickly. Her kunai knives were enough to ensure that. Plus, she may have been trained a bit in simple gymnastics she supposed, making it easier to twist and turn away.

But running?

Even Hyro wasn’t that cruel.

“It’s not that bad,” Killua stayed effortlessly, as if he had not even wasted a single breath. Asuka rolled her eyes and turned to see just how the kid was holding up. Her eyes met his and she realized his head wasn’t bobbing. His shoulders weren’t pumping with his arms. She looked down and looked back up, hoping her Ren was projecting enough to show the kid she was about to kill him.

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll kill you.”

“Not if you can’t stay up and running,” Killua blew back at her, his hands behind his head as he cruised on his skateboard.

Asuka grumbled under her breath. “Not if you can’t stay up and running,” she mocked, knowing how utterly childish it was. But to be honest, it was either distract herself with childish antics or allow her brain to comprehend the situation she was in. And the latter was never going to happen. She wouldn’t allow it.

“Twenty?” Killua asked as he skated beside her.

“Flattered,” Asuka muttered, tossing a side eye at her companion.

Killua hummed. “Less than thirty but older than twenty. Easy enough now.”

Asuka ground her teeth. “You’re a brat,” she hissed at the boy, knowing he was utterly enjoying her growing frustrations. They weren’t aimed at him. Though she would admit he was rather smart for having the skateboard and thinking to use it when he could have just run with it. But she was more so frustrated at how tired she was growing. She couldn’t keep up a pace of speaking and running. Not if she wanted to get past the first test. She had to just run. She couldn’t think about it and she just needed to do it.

That was obviously easier said than done.

“I’m going to run ahead,” she told Killua, “I need to run by myself or else I’ll burn out before we reach the end.”

Killua nodded and flashed her an understanding smirk. “If I beat you there, will you tell me a secret?” he asked with a pleased glint in his bright eyes.

Asuka looked him over for a moment and sighed. “Fine.”

The boy’s eyes lit up but he stayed at the same cruising speed he had kept up with her. She shrugged her shoulders and began forcing her legs to pump into longer strides, cushioned by forcing her aura into her legs. It was something Hyro taught her how to do when she needed to jump higher or get away quickly. Sometimes it had helped in fights but she wasn’t a runner. She always stayed, even if it meant death on one party. She simply couldn’t let a victory slip from her fingers. Not when her kunai always stayed true.

Asuka began to distance herself from Killua and waved over her shoulder at the nonchalant boy. She couldn’t tell if he waved back but she assumed he stayed with his hands behind his head or in his pockets. 

What a pleasant surprise he was, she mused to herself. She had not thought she would find someone so interesting at the exam, a child much less. She knew he was a Zoldyck, that much was certain. She wondered how his life had been. Obviously one of pain and no loving touches, she knew that the moment he lit up and their eyes met. She knew that darkness all too well and she wondered if there would ever be a chance he could learn it. She hoped for a split second to keep his companionship and perhaps turn it into a friendship, even if she was twice his age. She had always wanted a sibling, a little one no doubt. Perhaps he could fill that hole.

Though that was a selfish dream. She knew she had no right to a family. It wouldn’t happen. There was a reason she had been dumped into the streets. Her parents had not wanted her, that much was true. She often wondered why, but Hyro had tried his damndest to beat it out of her. But it still was a fleeting thought. And when she had nothing else to do but run, it was like a wave of memories just decided to play like a movie in a theatre.

Perhaps she had been good at getting what she wanted. A starving child in the streets with a big pair of green eyes? Scrawny and muttering to herself, crying under the cover of cardboard on stormy nights. Sometimes she had wished she had been dumped in Meteor City. It would’ve been easier. Everyone there was unwanted goods. There she would’ve found her place. Instead, she was forced to become a gutter rat, and for that, she felt hate. Living in a lavish city where people looked down upon the trash was hell. No one liked her but they felt pity. They felt disgusted, but they still gave her what she begged for. It was better than the others.

At least she wasn’t beaten or kicked at.

Perhaps she was doing the Hunter Exam for a different reason. Maybe she wanted some vindication. She wasn’t allowed material things with Hyro other than her knives. With a license, she’d have more money than she ever dreamed. She could get jobs: any sort of jobs she dreamed of. She could hunt for rare objects, or fulfill bounties, or be hired for special contracts. 

Or she could just do as she pleased.

A dark curl of her lips brought her back into the moment for a second. She could kill whoever she pleased.

That was such an appetizing thought, her tongue quickly darted out and licked along her lips. Her list could be completed and it would be oh so tantalizingly sweet.

“I’m sure you could kill someone now and the examiner wouldn’t bat an eye,” a velvety voice draped over and into her ear, as if it was a curtain over her shoulder.

Asuka was ripped from her fantasies and she bared her teeth in a snarl. She knew the owner of such a drippingly sweet voice. He had eyes of honey that seemed to want to pool down his painted cheeks. He was good, she’d admit it.

“Your bloodlust is quite...” he paused for dramatic effect as he pulled up to be directly beside her, “delicious.” 

Asuka looked over and up at him (a fact she absolutely despised) and caught his dark smirk. He enjoyed her losing control. He reveled in it. Though she shouldn’t have been surprised, she was sure that a creature such as himself was undoubtedly a connoisseur of untamed Ren. She could practically taste his own bloodlust roaring around him so that any who dared be close to them were pushed away by the inescapable fear that pinned them into cowering glances. For a second she wondered if her mind played a trick, but she thought she could smell the delectable sweetness of bubblegum.

“And your’s is rather obnoxious,” Asuka shot back, annoyed that he had ripped her from her thoughts. She had left Killua for a reason.

The man beside her hummed with a potent glee. He enjoyed this so far. Though she knew she presented a challenge to him. Something he did not get with the other examinees. She was certain it was just the pair of them who had learned Nen.

“I wonder...” the man trailed off, a horrifying gleam pooling in his focused eyes. Asuka could only imagine what his mind was cooking up. While she found him interesting and rather envy-curdling, she knew he was a threat. A very dangerous threat. She knew that with the way his aura surrounded him, she would be like a leaf in a storm against him. There was no chance she would have a shot. But she was good at getting herself into tight situations and wriggling her way out. 

It usually involved a kunai or two.

Blowing out a harsh puff of air, Asuka focused her attention back towards the empty space before her. “I wonder if you could leave me be?”

“Why? Can’t keep up?” 

His words were so akin to a tart jam that looked so appetizing yet Asuka knew there was nothing but the bitter surprise of sarcasm hidden within. And a thinly veiled threat.

“With you?” she asked, daring one last glance at the devil’s face. He was enjoying himself far too much. She sighed and decided to entertain him. For now. “Not even in my dreams.”

Asuka swore a pout pulled down his lips and disappointment flooded his eyes.

“When would you be able to?” 

He was itching to fight her, she knew it. She didn’t blame him. A sick and twisted part of her, despite knowing she would most likely die seeing as he easily made a grown man’s arms fucking disappear, wanted to fight him. She wanted to see if she could knick his cheek. See if she could get just a droplet of blood from him. She was sure she might be able to, but she was also sure she’d end up dead in the end.

But if there was no fear for one’s life, was it even interesting?

“After I complete my list,” Asuka hummed, knowing his curiosity would peak.

The pair stayed silent for a moment, the tall clown pumping his muscular arms with ease and the shorter woman trying her best to not break into a cold sweat. He was undoubtedly in better shape than her as well, though she wondered if it was due to his control of his Nen. It roiled her belly with an unquenchable jealousy. She needed to get better. Get stronger. If she didn’t, then was she worthy of being a hunter? Probably not, but she needed to remember she wasn’t doing this for the license. But a part of her wanted to.

“Hisoka.”

Asuka turned her head with wide eyes but schooled her surprise quickly. 

“Asuka,” she mumbled, returning the favor. Though she wasn’t sure she was comfortable with the m-Hisoka, knowing her name. She’d rather just be #88 to him, and then he would’ve stayed #44 to her.

How odd, she thought, she was double his number. What a fucking coincidence. 

With that final exchange, Hisoka pushed forward without another word or look back at her. She let out a relieved breath and began to refocus her mind. 

The Hisoka character was one she needed to watch closely. She would need to improve her Zetsu tremendously if she wanted a fighting chance against him. Perhaps they would have a chance to get a taste of how the other fought. It would definitely be a plus. She would love to see him in action. She still was sure he was a conjurer but she wanted to be sure. She wanted to see him use his Hatsu. She wanted to see him use it on her. It could make her better. She wondered if they’d even have a chance to fight hand-to-hand. That would definitely be intriguing. She didn’t see any weapons on him so perhaps he just used his hands. But Asuka knew that even she had her kunai hidden, yet within quick and easy reach.

She wanted to see his weapon of choice.

With a huff, Asuka steeled her resolve and pushed on, focusing on the way her aura bounced between her boots and the stone ground below.

* * *

“Asuka!” 

“Please don’t rub it in my face,” Asuka groaned, her body aching and protesting with each step. She had pulled her aura back into Ten, having only been able to keep it in her feet for maybe twenty kilometers. She knew she had broken into a sweat and she was thankful for her outfit. Though, she still was regretting her shoe choice. Combat boots were not the best for running, not when she was so used to bare feet. 

She turned her head and saw Killua with...she gave a groan.

Another fucking kid? What the hell were they being fed that made them capable of taking the damned Hunter Exam.

“And you must be?” Asuka asked with feigned boredom. In reality, she was annoyed by the fact that kids were doing better than her but also she was so incredibly interested. The black haired boy sporting the oddest little green outfit with wide eyes and a smile was definitely an anomaly, just as much as Killua.

The boy smiled brightly, his hands wrapped around his backpack straps, a fishing pole and briefcase hanging off the back. “Gon!” he chirped, akin to a little bird. 

Asuka looked at his pin. #405

She hummed. So he was the last examinee. 

“I’m assuming you’re twelve too, Gon?” Asuka gave in, wanting to not only sate her curiosity but also give herself something to think about other than the memories she had been reliving for four hours.

The young boy squealed with joy and gave a little jump. Asuka’s eyes widened. How the hell did he have this much energy? It was then that it also registered that Killua was running, his skateboard in hand. She wondered if he had been running since he met young Gon.

“You told me she was good!” Gon cried to Killua with excitement. 

Asuka smirked. Good, you’re easy to impress, she thought with humor.

“I wanted you to meet Gon, Asuka,” Killua mentioned, a certain brightness in his eyes visible that had not been there before. It softened her smirk lightly.

A new friend often did that for kids.

“We’re gonna race to the end!” Gon spewed our quickly and with barely contained joy.

Asuka deadpanned and turned her head back forward. This was just getting embarrassing.

Killua chuckled. “Loser buys dinner!”

“Bye Asuka!” Gon waved at her as the pair practically left her in their dust.

“Little shits,” she muttered under her breath as she watched them sprint ahead. Black and white bobbed up and down. They laughed with each other and Gon especially wore the biggest smile Asuka had ever seen in her life. She was sure she had never felt such a joy in her lifetime. She had felt morbid satisfaction when she started her list. She had felt relief when she eliminated any enemy she encountered. She had felt pride, envy, annoyance, humor. But she wasn’t sure she had ever felt joy like the little Gon. She wondered if she’d be able to smile like he did. Perhaps he and Killua could teach her.

As long as they didn’t come in the way of her list, perhaps she could lose a bit of herself in their childish glee. Perhaps she could take them under her wings and keep them safe. Killua knew much of the world, she was sure. But that didn’t mean he knew kindness or love. He didn’t know a sibling’s love. Perhaps Asuka could learn it with him. Perhaps Gon could teach them both that sort of feeling. When she had briefly looked into his eyes, he had been a wide open book. A child who knew love so intimately, and who loved those he came into prolonged contact with. But he knew loss. He was missing a father in his life. But he was hopeful to find him.

It made her heart drop slightly. What sort of human left such a sweet child? Such a ray of sunlight? Such a bouncing ball of vividly lively aura?

Asuka shook her head and sighed. She would allow herself some leeway and ensure those two would finish the exam. She knew Killua would, and she knew Gon would as well. But she would ensure it. The world needed more of them. Even if it meant her demise, she swore a promise to herself that she would get those two to the end. Then she would, after getting her license, go off into the world and complete her list. She could not protect the two in the real world, but she could in the exam. At least it was something. She could do what no one else did for her. 

A lightness filled her chest and made it the slightest bit easier to breathe. She grew determined, steeling her resolve and looking ahead with a newfound burst of energy. But as she looked forward, she realized the new development.

Stairs.

The lightness dropped and her stomach grumbled as her nerves bundled. “You’ve gotta be fucking with me,” she muttered.

Sighing in frustration, but remembering her new promise, Asuka closed her eyes and pushed her body past its limits and up the steep incline.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being so patient and for the continued support! I hope y’all enjoy this chapter! I finished it a bit faster just so I could get it out to y’all before I head in to work! I love you all and hope you’re staying safe and healthy!

“Took ya long enough.”

Asuka opened an eye, squinting against the fog-tinted sunlight as a figure peered over her. She pursed her lips and rolled her open eye at the white haired boy leaning over her from a seated position. He must have plopped down next to her after she collapsed rather unceremoniously onto the ground, out of breath and possibly near death.

“What? Were you first or something, brat?” Asuka snorted, closing her eye again and just trying to breathe as steadily as she could to bring such delicious oxygen into her deprived lungs. It tingled her mouth and began to create a dry environment, tasting like that of cotton but she didn’t care. She didn’t care so long as the beautiful and delicious air filled up her nose and mouth and traveled to her weak lungs. Her blood was undoubtedly a more purple hue in her arteries or whatever she remembered from oxygen deprived blood. She knew something was wrong though. But she was too tired to care.

Killua chuckled and Asuka knew she had guessed correctly. 

“We tied! Mister Satotz confirmed it,” Gin’s excited nature made itself very glaringly prominent. Asuka sighed and opened her other eye, taking in the wide grin on the young boy’s face. 

“Great,” she muttered, closing her eyes completely and tilting her head back just slightly. Her hands were interlocked behind her head, letting her grey hair spread out onto the hard ground below her. The grass tickled her scalp and exposed flesh, but she didn’t mind. It was rather soothing and provided a sense of serenity she knew she needed at this time. 

She hadn’t been sure if she could finish. She wasn’t sure how many meters she had run at that point up the stairs, but it had been enough to make her realize her hold on her Nen had slipped. Her focus had been destroyed and her aura had been leaking from her quite noticeably. It had been bad. Very bad. She had to get it under control quickly, but by that point, she had grown exhausted and was close to dropping. The only thing that stopped her was the thought of the two boys sitting on her sides and the vision of the light at the end of the tunnel. It had been rather poetic in a way but Asuka was too tired and drained to care much about it. She just needed a nap. A long one.

Killua then poked her cheek. “You owe me a secret.”

Asuka snorted in mild amusement and tilted her head towards her companion. “What sort of secret would you like to know?”

“I want to know!” Gon cried out with untamed excitement. He leaned over Asuka and the air left he quickly as the boy’s weight settled over her stomach. She winced but couldn’t help the small smile on her lips. Though, there was a sliver of annoyance at the utter lack of personal space with the kid. 

Asuka hummed for a moment. “I am an only child.”

Killua’s face dropped and he rolled his eyes with an exasperated pout. Gon gasped and began grabbing for Asuka’s attention. He was rapidly speaking about how he too was an only child and how his dad was gone from his life and was a hunter and how his Aunt Mito or Miso, or whatever name he said, took care of him on Whale Island and it became a lot for Asuka to absorb in a few seconds. It all just rushed out of him and though she knew his pain from his wide eyes, this was more than she could handle in such a short sitting.

“Gon,” Killua stopped the young boy, saving poor Asuka’s ears from being talked off. She gave kudos to the kid for being so wildly spirited and energetic, but she was not 12 years old. Compared to them, she was growing a bit old. While her Nen would excessively slow her aging, she still sometimes felt the creak in her once neglected joints and bones. Nen couldn’t save the abuse her body had gone through. The utter lack of nutrition that had made her gangly and weak as a child. It couldn’t save her from the way she would only have her stomach reminding her that she was alive. 

It was such a fickle thing. The past.

Gon got the cue and gave a nervous chuckle. He scratched the back of his neck and gave Asuka yet another beaming smile.

Did this kid ever stop smiling, she wondered curiously. He was such an anomaly.

“Sorry,” he nervously chuckled.

Asuka waved the boy’s apology off. “No need to say sorry, especially when you’re not truly apologetic.”

Gon stared at her for a moment. She shot him a teasing look, hoping he understood she didn’t truly mean it and was just trying to rile him up. But his smile was gone and his fingers had begun to scratch at his chin as he looked up to the sky. Asuka wanted to slap her hand over her face. The boy was one of those.

“Gon,” Asuka called out, snapping her fingers in front of his perplexed face, “I was messing with you.”

He still stayed focused on whatever he was thinking. Asuka looked over at Killua, questioning him with her eyes and he merely shrugged. Unable to help herself, she gave a chuckle and fully relaxed again, aware that Gon was still leaning over her exposed midriff but she didn’t mind. Not as much as she thought she would either. He posed no threat. He was a child, and an oblivious one at that, but his heart was good and strong. Something this world severely lacked. Something Asuka lacked. But she enjoyed the boy already and would allow him such a luxury not even the closest people in her life were afforded. 

The wind was cooling her down and her heart was steadying as she continued to breathe slowly and evenly. Her aura had grown calm and was merely swirling around her body, tickling her flesh with a refreshing dance of balance and serenity. It was like a blanket of water rippled over her overheated flesh and cooled her enough to make her mind clear once more. It was everything she needed and more. Though she would definitely have to think about how her focus had utterly snapped. That was not good. Five years of Nen training and her focus snapped after running? What would it do during the rest of the exam? Would it kill her? It was daunting, certainly, but she had to remind herself that she would be fine. She wasn’t a runner. She knew that. It was just her lack of comfort getting to her. Her focus had been elsewhere.

Nothing to worry about.

“Kurapika! Leorio!”

Asuka let out an “oof” as Gon pushed off of her with no warning and jumped up into the air with a giddy ferocity.

“A little warning next time,” Asuka muttered, curling into a fetal position on her side. Killua chuckled and she sent him a deathly glare she hoped would put him into his place but he sent her a cool gaze back. Oh he was good. The little shit.

Giving a groan, Asuka pushed herself onto her hands and knees and stood up. It was a bit dizzying and a few spots blacked out her vision. She grunted in annoyance and did her best to stand still while her mind situated itself. Maybe she was just dehydrated or something. But her body knew such a painful concept. It knew it intimately. It shouldn’t be affecting her at all. She should be fine. Those two fucking kids were just dandy and here she was, a trained Nen user, struggling to stand straight after running just as far. She ground her teeth together and forced herself to focus on a singular blade of grass by her foot. It would steady her, she knew it.

“Asuka!”

Gon’s vibrancy pulled her away from her focus and she looked up slowly towards his voice, picking out his aura quite quickly despite how it trickles up from the top of his head. He was so bright. Just so incredibly bright.

She forced a small smile and placed her hands in her pockets. She grabbed a toothpick and popped it into her mouth, realizing she had gone far too long without one. After two hours, she had forgotten about replenishing them. 

Next to Gon were two...men(?). Asuka studied the pair with a cocked brow. The shorter one was blonde and their hair fell down into their eyes and past their ears. Their grey eyes were wide and somewhat feminine but Asuka felt that this person was a male. They were young too, but not as young as Gon and Killua. They donned a white tunic and trousers, and a satchel sat at their side. A pin sat on their chest with the number 404. Then the person next to them was definitely an adult. He had black spiked hair and sported wire rim glasses over their brown eyes. He was much taller, towering over the four of the group. He was slightly hunched and his face cried out in exhaustion. His white button up shirt was tied around his waist and his tie was loose around his neck. 

An...interesting duo.

“Asuka!” Gon grabbed her attention once more. She looked over at the boy as he motioned towards his obvious friends, something she was sure the boy never ran out of. “This is Kurapika,” he motioned to the blonde, “and this is Leorio!” he motioned then to the taller of the pair.

“Hello,” Asuka greeted, her eyes roaming the pair once more. She focused on her Gyo and saw that the pair also lacked training in Nen. A small hum escaped her and she nodded in approval. Good, she thought, more evidence that pointed towards her being right.

So far, it was just her and Hisoka.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the blonde extended a hand, their voice firm but also somewhat breathless. Asuka looked down and then decided to meet Kurapika’s hand with a firm shake. Their voice was distinctly masculine, though it held some higher qualities. But she was sure Kurapika was a boy. 

She gave a brief stare into his wide grey eyes and clenched her jaw. There was pain. And anger. And sadness. And regret. Lots and lots of wretchedly bitter regret. For what, she wasn’t sure, there was too much red clouding her vision. Like a scarlet blood had dripped into a veil over her eyes and she was close to drowning under the shade. It was too much.

She ripped her eyes away. “The pleasure is all mine,” she muttered, pulling away. She turned her attention to the Leorio fellow and realized that he had collapsed to the ground. She chuckled lightly and supposed she could relate to that, very intimately as well.

“How do you know Gon?” Kurapika questioned intelligently, his voice curious but hard. 

Asuka smirked. He was the smart one. The sensible one.

“The two brats beat me here,” she motioned her thumb at the two twelve year olds with a small sarcastic quip in annoyance. “Killua and I had paired up before we began running. And you?”

“Met on the ship over,” Leorio rasped out, waving a hand in the air as if it was the most strenuous thing in the entire world.

Asuka supposed it might have been.

Kurapika looked around and began to give a light gasp, barely audible under his breath but Asuka could hear his surprise. “So is this the finish line for the first phase?”

“Mister Satotz said there’s still a ways to go!” Gon quickly answered, a pleased smile on his youthful features. Asuka couldn't believe how much he was enjoying this. She had taken this exam to find a challenge, maybe get the license. There was no enjoyment thus far. And if she had to run any more? She might just quit.

“Well, it looks like the fog is clearing,” Kurapika mentioned, relief visible in his relaxing shoulders. 

Asuka looked out and over the crowd, noticing that his comment was right. The thick fog was starting to lift so that the environment before them was growing increasingly more and more visible. While she couldn’t truly see over the taller heads of her fellow examinees, she did notice a forestry line that spread out over the horizon before them. 

Satotz began explaining the landscape, the Numere Wetlands. He mentioned it was also named the Swindler’s Swamp. Asuka rolled her eyes and fiddled with her toothpick instead. The words of caution and fear were most likely well founded but she had no interest in such things. Of course it would be a dangerous area that could kill any single one of them. To not be prepared for such a possibility would have been foolish. It was a Hunter Exam. Hunters needed to be in top form. This was merely a training exercise. A way to truly get rid of the weakest. The good crop of candidates would survive a forest. The others wouldn’t.

She supposed she would have to keep a very close eye on Gon and Killua, with or without their friends, Kurapika and Leorio. 

The building’s opening that they had emerged from began to rattle close and one unlucky straggler screamed in desperation as he tried to beat the rapidly closing metal door. But as his fingers almost crossed the threshold, the metal clanged shut and left him in the dark tunnel that the rest had escaped from. Asuka hummed. 

Satotz was quiet and then mentioned something about following closely or ensuring not to be tricked by the swindlers in the swamp. Asuka thought it utterly dramatic. Sure others may fall for things, but she was certain it would be impossible for her to even think twice. Who would even trust the things in the swamp? Keep your eyes on Satotz and you’re fine. Make sure it’s him too by keeping an eye on his aura. He was a hunter so Asuka knew he was a Nen user. He had to be. So that wouldn’t be too hard.

For her at least.

Leorio stood up shakily, an almost crazed smile on his exhausted lips. Asuka then realized his pin, which read 403, was...on his flesh. Her eyes widened as she took in the man’s disheveled appearance and unconsciously took a half step back. He was odd.

“This is so ridiculous,” he scoffed, “now that you’ve warned us all, who’s going to get tricked now?”

You, she thought with mild humor.

“Don’t fall for it!”

Leorio muttered his annoyance at someone basically brushing off his words and Asuka smirked in enjoyment. He was odd but he was entertaining already. Such an anomaly as well. Gon and Killua were so young and brimming with potential. Kurapika was certainly talented and still full of youthful vigor. Leorio. He was older and a bit off but she could only assume he had a drive that kept him walking. His aura was certainly weaker than the other three but it was still there. He had potential. All four of them did. It made Asuka giddy with excitement.

A man peered out from the side of the building, his face oddly familiar. Asuka was sure she had seen him before. But she was also sure that when she had seen him, his body was laying on the ground in a heap, collapsed from exhaustion on the stairs. 

Her fingers itched for her smaller kunai, so she obliged and set her hand in her one pocket, gently stroking the handle.

“Everyone, do not fall for it.”

Oh she was sure just about everyone would. She didn’t even need to use Gyo though. This man was merely a creature of the swamp.

He stepped away from the building and threw an accusatory finger at the less than impressed Satotz, who Asuka finally got a good look at. He seemed rather bored by the whole ordeal. She couldn’t help but snicker quietly.

“That man has been lying to all of you!” he accused with a loud anger. “He’s not an examiner. He’s an imposter! I’m the real examiner.”

Asuka rolled her eyes at the pitiful acting skills. If this was what was in the swamp, then it should be a breeze. If people fell for this performance, then perhaps they should fall victim to the creatures of the swamp. It’d be easier for the rest of them.

Her fingers grasped onto her weapon and she began to slide it out just enough that she could flick her wrist and rid of the weapon in the creature’s heart. He even dragged out the same breed of creature he was, acting as though it was dead. It sported Satotz face, horribly disfigured into an ape/man mix. The imposter tried to explain how their limbs are weak and must take on other forms to get human flesh. He was explaining his very trick and Asuka found it boring.

Though, Gon and Leorio seemed to think it true. Along with the other whispers of dissent among the group of examinees.

Asuka sighed. “This is boring,” she muttered before flicking her wrist and sending the kunai flying into the man’s chest. It sank into his flesh over his heart, accompanied by three precisely thrown playing cards. She purses her lips and looked over at Hisoka, who stood in the small clearing playing with his cards.

A gasp and subsequent silence had fallen over the group, as Satotz held three cards between his fingers. He was good, Asuka thought with a smirk.

“I can see it now,” Hisoka chuckled with a self-satisfied smirk. Asuka rolled her eyes and began to stroll over to the now dead imposter, hands stuffed in her pockets as she went to retrieve her precious weapon. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re the real examiner.”

Asuka bent over and ripped the kunai from the creatures chest, exciting the other one who was very much alive and quickly jumped up and darted off in fear. She wiped the minimal blood off with a rag from her pockets and stuff both back into their rightful places. 

“Like you didn’t know already,” Asuka murmured under her breath as she walked back over to the group. He was all for theatrics, that much was 100% obvious. Though she respected his more than obvious skills, she realize his antics would most likely gnaw at her as an annoying child whines to their mother for no reason. He did it all because he enjoyed it. “Fucking masochist.”

Leorio, Kurapika and Gon all watched her with wide eyes and Leorio’s mouth was wide open. Asuka shrugged, as if to ask “what?” and continued walking back to where she had been.

“Yes, yes we know,” Asuka groaned loudly as she crossed her arms over her midriff. “He’s the examiner because he is trained and was able to catch your dandy little cards. Now may we please begin the actual part of this phase of the exam? No need for dramatic monologuing.”

Everyone’s eyes darted towards her in surprise and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Was anyone truly fit for this exam other than the select few she had assumed already? God, it would grow incredibly boring if that was the case. Hisoka’s eyes, though, bore right into her and she cocked a grey brow in challenge. She hoped he would challenge her. She knew she would lose but even the slightest taste of adrenaline in her veins was enough to make her stay put, even when the blood began to tickle her tongue. She assumed he never had anyone interrupt him. What a pity.

Satotz looked over at her and while she could not see any mouth even under his thin moustache, she had to guess he was giving her a small smile. She would take it.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Satotz began, looking back at an annoyed Hisoka. “But should you ever lay a finger on me like that again, I will consider it a violation against an examiner. I will have you disqualified. Are we understood?”

Hisoka’s eyes never left her. Those burning honey amber that blazed with a new fire Asuka couldn’t decipher. “Yes,” he replied cooly, his hands ceasing to fiddle with the cards. 

Leorio mentioned something about nature, garnering agreement from the other three, but Asuka failed to see what he was seeing. She was staring right back at the jester and she was growing frustrated. She was used to seeing anything she wanted in people’s eyes. She could see every emotion they’ve ever felt, or the most recent ones if they were so strong. But she saw nothing in Hisoka’s burning eyes and it infuriated her. He was a new anomaly to her and not the kind she liked. The four others, she liked. They were strange in their own ways and she could read them quite well. But Hisoka? He was not only dangerous in Nen and skills, but now she had lost an advantage she always had. There was no glee or bloodlust or annoyance or anger or hate.

His eyes simply burned a bright amber, highlighted with hints of dark yellow. Even his bloodlust was kept under control and it was leaving Asuka naked in his eyes, she knew it. 

He knew what she could do and he now had an even higher edge over her.

One she thought would probably kill her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the continued support! I hope this chapter is good for y’all and I appreciate the reads :) please make sure to stay safe and healthy out there!

Asuka grunted as her boots padded against the moist ground below them. The sick slapping of shoes and water was starting to grate on her nerves. The entire idea of running in general was disgusting to her now. She had never run this much in her life, even when living in the gutters. No one truly forced her to run, except for a few disgusting men here and there. She had been good at staying hidden when she needed to be and being up at the boots of the wealthy when she needed pity change. Even with Hyro, cardio training was only pertinent in ensuring endurance during fights. There was no excessive running of any sort. This was cruel and unusual punishment.

Looking around with a watchful eye, Asuka scanned the changing surroundings carefully. The fog was growing thicker and thicker by the minute. The trees seemed to begin to blend into the growing shadows. Chirps of wildlife deepened into growls and Asuka knew that the fog was dangerous. It would play tricks on all of them. That was how it got the poor souls who decided to venture in. But, so long as she kept an eye out, she would be able to stay on her feet with no problems.

However, the distinct presence behind her made her a little more jumpy.

“Maybe we should move to the front,” Killua mentioned casually. Asuka looked down at him on her left, a curious brow arched on her face. His blue eyes were narrowed and suspicious, as if he had gotten a bad feeling about something and felt it was important to act on such a thing. She quickly followed his line of sight and recognized who he was looking at.

She hummed. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea,” she chimed in. 

“Why would we move to the front?” Gon asked, his bubbly energy uncontainable and contagious as he looked up to her from her right. She ran between the pair, ready to dart out should they need her to. She wanted, no needed, to be in prime positioning so she could protect them. It was her self-assigned duty now. She would not fail at it.

Killua looked forward, squinting his eyes slightly to see through the fog. “It’s best if we put distance between ourselves and Hisoka. There’s something ominous about him, I can smell it.”

Asuka smirked at the deduction. Bloodlust, though contained, could sometimes present itself in smell if one was trained enough. It meant Killua had experience with it, even if he didn’t know what it was that allowed him to create such a firm deduction. He wasn’t wrong either. Asuka could taste the sweet iron on her tongue, but she had a feeling it was directed at the men in blue who thought they were so clever behind Hisoka. They were going to round him off and try and take him out. He was the strongest. However, he was the exactly that: the strongest and would absolutely kill each and every one of the men without hesitation. It was pathetic on the part of the idiots.

“I can’t smell anything!” Gon complained sadly, his wide eyes brimming with genuine disappointment.

Asuka chuckled and patted the boy on the head. “You will soon enough Gon.”

The boy stuck his tongue out, eliciting a true smile upon Asuka’s lips. With a sigh, he called out, “Kurapika! Leorio! Killua, Asuka and I are moving to the front!”

Asuka and Killua facepalmed.

“Baka!” Killua hissed out. “You’re not supposed to make it known to everyone!”

Gon looked at them both with an embarrassed blush climbing onto his cheeks. He closed his eyes with his wide smile and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry,” he lamely apologized.

Asuka shook her head, though she couldn’t lie about being entertained by the banter between Killua and Gon. They seemed to be two peas in a pod. It was most definitely pleasing to Asuka. 

She patted the boy’s spiked hair with a teasing chuckle. “What did I say about apologies, Gon?”

The boy gave an extremely dramatic and annoyed sigh before sticking his tongue out at her. She flicked his tongue with a smirk and watched as his eyes widened while he grabbed at his mouth in a hurry. Asuka chuckled and nodded for the three of them to push to the front of the group, even if it was fucking excruciating for her.

They began running in silence, keeping their eyes forwards and their minds focused. It truly didn’t take long for the screams of agony and death to start. It didn’t take long for Satotz to disappear into the fog, forcing the trio to just keep pushing forward. Asuka had a general idea of where to go, doing her best to focus her Ten into her eyes and searching as hard as she could for the examiner. But he was sneaky. He not only hid inside of the fog but she was sure he was also using Zetsu to stay hidden from those who knew the ways of Nen. Or she was severely off the mark and he was just already far ahead of them, making it impossible to find him. They just had to keep pushing forward.

“Why’re you taking the exam, Asuka?” Gon asked, looking up to her as they continued running.

Asuka blew out a puff of air, realizing she was out of a toothpick again. She managed to get one back between her lips without much difficulty and smirked down at the boy who watched her with some form of...admiration? It forced Asuka’s attention away. She didn’t like that look.

“I just wanted to try.” She shrugged, being almost completely honest. Her reasons had changed though, and she wasn’t sure if she was okay with that. Not after so little time. “I’ve got a few things in life that would become much easier should I obtain the license.”

“Like what?” Killua asked this time, unable to hide his childish curiosity.

Asuka smirked. “Wouldn’t you boys like to know.”

“Yes!” Gon replied excitedly, completely missing the rhetorical nature of the statement. Asuka rolled her eyes at it, but a smile crawled over her smirk. “I want to know why everyone is taking the Hunter Exam! I’m taking it to become a hunter and find my father!”

Asuka hummed. “Yes, you mentioned that before,” she commented, though she had to be honest if she said she did not absorb a single word of information from his little word explosion right after she finished the first part of the first phase. “However, Gon, not everyone has such a good heart as your’s. Some want the license for the money. Some for the lucrative deals that can be made. Some to be given free reign over this world. Some to get away with the most heinous of acts. This world is unkind to large hearts like yours. You best guard it well.”

Gon looked back towards where they were running, his black brows furrowed on his naive features. Asuka wanted to protect him from the world. Protect him from horrible people. Though she supposed she could count as one of them. She had done things she would never tell either of them, no matter how hard they begged. She planned to do things just the same. But she could protect them from such actions. She could protect them from some truths of hers. It wouldn’t be easy or wonderful, but it was doable. And she would do it. They had admittedly grown on her and perhaps, she would accept a few close people into her circle.

Another scream shook the air around them.

“There’s a lot of screaming,” Gon mentioned with a slightly off tone. He was nervous.

Killua sighed. “It’s a good way to keep us focused.”

But Gon was anything but focused. Asuka could tell and a lick of disappointment tickled her mind. “I hope Kurapika and Leorio are okay.”

“They will be,” Asuka tried to soothe her young companion. “If they’re your friends, then I’m sure they can handle themselves.”

Gon smiled up at her, shooting gratitude to her through his eyes. His emotions were on such full display that Asuka began to feel slightly overwhelmed when she made eye contact with him.

She would need to ensure she didn’t look him in the eyes as much.

They resumed a comfortable silence until, without warning, the ground gave way beneath them. Asuka gave a yelp of surprise, while Gon and Killua cried out from the lack of ground beneath them. The air rushed past them and Asuka was unsure how to proceed, as she had never encountered being taken by surprise like this. 

They all gave a collective grunt as they land finally. Asuka looked around in confusion and realized there was no longer fog surrounding them but complete darkness. 

“Did we just get fucking swallowed?” Asuka groaned in not only frustration but disgust. She knew the answer with the way a moist and pliable material was beneath her hands and boots. She was close to gagging from the very idea of being in a fucking mouth. If she couldn’t handle vomit, she sure as hell couldn’t handle being in a damned mouth.

Gon gave a loud and relieved laugh, causing Asuka to look over. She focused on Gyo and was able to pick out where the boys were in relation to her. They were all relatively close together on the creature’s tongue, so it gave Asuka better peace of mind.

“Why the hell are you laughing, kid?” Asuka muttered, doing her best to stand inside the mouth without falling back onto her ass. This was not what she signed up for. Especially when a glob of saliva dropped from the roof of the mouth and hit her shoulder. She was certain she was going to puke. “Any ideas on how to get out?”

“Already ahead of you,” Killua yawned. Asuka looked over at his aura and raised a grey brow at how words. A trickling sound of liquid being poured raised her suspicions even further.

It didn’t take long before the tree of them were back on flat earth, a massive frog having thrown them up. Asuka thought she herself was going to hurl after realizing what had just happened in such a short amount of time. She had to turn away from the boys and heave, though she knew nothing would come out due to her empty stomach. She couldn’t even think of looking at her body at the moment.

“Guess he didn’t like the taste of us!” Gon squealed with amusement.

“Or I just gave him this,” Killua pulled out the orange soda Tonpa had given him and shook the now empty can.

“The drink Tonpa gave us! Good thing you still had that!” 

“Eh, I would’ve figured out a way anyways,” Killua shrugged, standing up and tossing the can to the mucus-covered ground. “C’mon we can’t lose any time.”

Gon stood, as did Asuka, though her rise up was a bit more shaky and hesitant. She didn’t want to feel the slick material on her any more than she had to. It was utterly rancid and disgusting. She just wanted to dive into a pool and rid herself of the liquid that slicked over her body. For a moment, she thought she might pass out from the very feeling as her arms brushed against her side.

Yeah, she thought, I need to die right now.

“What about Leorio and Kurapika?” Gon suddenly asked, his voice small and worried. Asuka furrowed her brows. They had just talked about how the pair will be fine. They would be able to handle themselves. 

“Forget about them for now, Gon, we’ve got to go,” Killua sighed out of exasperation, feeling frustrated instead of confused like Asuka. There was something Gon was sensing and she could tell by the way his eyes lit up with determination. He was set on finding them. He couldn’t leave them behind. He wouldn’t. But he physically had to go find them. It raised Asuka’s curiosity.

However, he began running with Killua again. Asuka knew he would turn back when Killua least expected it. The fog was still thick and they had to focus on getting back to Satotz, as they were obviously turned around in the swindler’s swamp. But she didn’t want Gon to go alone. But she also didn’t want to leave Killua on his own without a word. 

But between the two? Asuka knew Gon would be the one who needed help.

* * *

It didn’t take long for Gon to make his move and run from Killua. Asuka dipped away quietly, ensuring neither boy noticed her leaving. She followed as the young twelve year old jumped over bushes and ducked under branches like it was second nature. She did her best to conceal her aura, focusing on Zetsu so she would lessen her chances of being caught by him. She knew he wasn’t trained but the way he seemed to...track his friends made her leery. Maybe he wasn’t trained, but just like Killua, there was something almost innate about him when it came to auras. Like he could pick up parts but he just didn’t know it yet.

She continued jumping from tree to tree, finding it easy as the foliage in the swamp was so clumped together. 

“What are you about to get yourself into, little Gon?” she muttered to herself, curious as to whether or not he would actually find Kurapika and Leorio. He must’ve had a strong gut feeling the two would need his help and he seemed to know where he was going. He definitely had a strong aura and a deep connection. He just needed to unlock it. It made Asuka grin.

She watched curiously as he paused before a clearing. Suddenly, his aura was gone. Asuka watched in awe as the boy unknowingly triggered Zetsu and hid away from whatever he was seeing. What a special case he was, she wondered. She had to think Killua was probably at an even higher level! Her drive to protect them so they could unlock their full potential became even more overwhelming. Perhaps this would be fun for her. This would be good.

In the blink of an eye, Gon grabbed his fishing rod and cast it into the clearing. Asuka sighed and dropped down from her tree so she could see what he was doing. She had heard a man’s yell and could only guess it was one of the two. She needed to get closer as well, as she was perhaps five trees behind the boy. Staying behind shrubbery and tree thanks, Asuka stealthily slithered closer and closer until she could see into the clearing.

“Kuso baka!” she nearly yelled at Gon as she registered who the actual fuck the boy had just hit.

Hisoka stood in the middle of the clearing, a wicked smirk on his lips and a bloodied mark on his cheek by the blue drop. Leorio, still only sporting a tie around his neck and holding a piece of wood, stared in open surprise at the scene happening before him. But that didn’t last long as he yelled about it being his fight and was subsequently knocked out by a singular punch from Hisoka.

Asuka facepalmed. 

Idiots.

Then it was Gon who decided to charge. He jumped forward, giving a childish yell in fear of his dear friend, his fishing pole held high above him. Asuka just watched in disappointment as the boy was outsmarted and outdodged by the jester. It was somewhat adorable that Gon was trying so hard but it was rather desperate in so many ways. He knew he couldn’t beat Hisoka and yet he still tried. A fucking fool’s mission in reality. But she gave the boy props for trying. 

Hisoka managed to appear beside and behind the astonished boy, surprising Gon with every offensive attempt he made. Asuka pursed her lips, fingers itching for her kunai. But at the moment, she needed to focus on her Zetsu, as she knew Hisoka would be able to sense her if she left that state. Though perhaps he was too focused on his little game with Gon. 

Asuka hummed and grabbed her smallest kunai. Her fingers twitched in excitement, giving in to her sick want to fight the clown. She would lose, especially after seeing the speed in which he so easily maneuvered himself. But it was so tempting to just try. To just see if she could land a hit. Perhaps she saw that same drive in Gon.

Especially when he used his fishing rod to create a smokescreen from the dirt and come at Hisoka from around the side. 

Asuka tsked at the attempt, as she knew where that would get the boy. And a hand to the throat was exactly where he ended up.

Sighing at the sight of Gon scratching at Hisoka’s clenched hand, Asuka stepped forward. She flicked her wrist quickly and shot the kunai at Hisoka’s wrist. Once again, he was caught off guard and Gon was dropped to the ground with a loud oof. The weapon dug into the clown’s little pink wrist guards, undeniably hitting flesh. Asuka knew her power behind her throws. She was pretty damn proud of herself for that one.

“I’d rather you not kill him,” Asuka called out as she walked into the clearing, dropping Zetsu, “he’s got some fight in him.”

Hisoka’s eyes moved from his wrist over to her. Once again, Asuka was confronted with a glare so powerful she wanted to shrink away. There were no emotions that she could read. Only bright burning pools of sunny amber that promised a fight.

He picked out the weapon with something akin to annoyance. “These are rather tedious,” he drawled out, examining the weapon in the fog-dampened light. Without another word, he flicked it back towards her and Asuka caught it. She nearly missed the handle and almost had a gnarly cut on her palm, but she had been throwing them for years. A little extra speed and force never killed her. Well almost did a few times but now was not one of them. “I think it best you keep them to yourself, hmmm?”

Asuka rolled her eyes. “Keep your claws off the kid and you have a deal.”

Hisoka’s wicked smirk crawled back onto his face. She wanted to punch it off. He was so damn smug with himself and Asuka was growing tired of it already. Barely any interactions and he riled her up. Barely any words and she wanted to gut him. It tickled her nerves in a dangerously addicting way. 

“Oh, you’re fun,” Hisoka nearly moaned into the air. His eyes were set ablaze and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. Asuka’s fingers clenched onto the handle of her weapon once more, tempted to nail it into his skull. He absolutely grated her. And she was frustrated to not truly know why.

Sighing, she put the kunai back into its rightful place, ignoring the mucus that still stuck to her pants. She flicked out her toothpick and popped another one in. “Yeah yeah, I get that a lot. They always regret it in the end. Like I said, leave the kid alone and we’ll be...fine.”

She strolled over to where Gon propped himself up on all fours, coughing and hacking from lack of air. She spared a glance at Leorio, who laid still but still breathing. Well, she thought, at least he didn’t kill him. Crouching down, ignoring Hisoka’s figure right next to her, Asuka patted Gon’s back.

“You okay, brat?” she asked quietly.

Gon nodded, unable to articulate words with the way he was hacking.

She nodded with an approving hum and looked up at Hisoka, whose eyes were burning right into her. He, without warning, fell into a low squat, his head nearly level with hers. A pleased smirk sat on his lips.

“Don’t worry,” he said to Gon, yet refused to take his eyes from Asuka. She looked at him with a bored expression, hoping to find satisfaction in pissing him off. Damned be her mental sirens blaring at the absolute danger this man presented. She could almost feel her breath on her face. “Your friend is alive and well. Because he passed!”

Asuka facepalmed. “Fucking psychopath,” she muttered with a shake of her head. Of course this was a game to him. Of course this was him being his own little examiner.

“You have passed as well!” the clown stated cheerily to a bewildered Gon. “I hope you’ll make a great hunter.”

Asuka stood from her spot and ran a hand through her grey bangs. She needed to get out of this stupid swamp and away from this sadist. The longer she spent near him, the more and more she wanted to rip his head off. And while she was sure that would please everyone involved, murdering wasn’t on the menu today. Not yet. 

“And you,” Hisoka hummed with a thoughtful interest. Asuka looked down at him, cocking a brow at his smug expression. “You will be fun.”

Asuka waved him off. “Yes, you’ve already said that. Can we please wrap this up?”

His eyes flashed a dangerous glint, not pleased by her inability to submit perhaps? Gon and Leorio could try and try but they wouldn’t be able to truly get a hit in. Asuka had Nen and would be able to hopefully cut him at least once. She refused to submit in any way. Verbally or physically fighting. She’d do her best to win at least one field of play.

A ringing cut into the still air and Hisoka pulled out a walkie talkie of sorts. A grainy voice cut through, telling Hisoka to hurry as they claimed they were nearing the second phase venue. The clown gave a sigh and said, “Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“Cute,” Asuka muttered, crossing her arms and chewing down on her toothpick. 

Hisoka looked up at her and stood to his full height, damn near dwarfing her in size. She nearly broke her toothpick in annoyance. He dipped his head down slightly and whispered beside her ear, “I can’t wait to see you, Asuka.”

She knew what that meant. He wanted to see her power. Her abilities. Her skills. She closed her eyes and waved him away, frustrated by his invasive move. “Mhm,” Asuka hummed.

Hisoka stood and walked over to Leorio. He picked the tall man up with ease and sling him over his shoulder with no difficulties. Show-off, Asuka glared at the clown. He was so incredibly irritating. For no reason other than how high and mighty he was. For no reason other than the utter annoyance that he was stronger than her. That he could kill her even when she tried her hardest. That it wouldn’t truly be a fair fight because in reality, her Hatsu was still missing and she still didn’t know what she could do. She would be a disappointment to him and she feared that disappointments did not last long in his reality.

“It is good to have friends,” Hisoka tossed at them. “I’m sure you both can find your way?”

Gon simply nodded at the clown and Asuka finally snapped her toothpick in half. Hisoka grinned wildly as he turned to walk away and into the fog.

“He’s strong,” Gon whispered out in awe after a moment.

Asuka grabbed him by the collar of his garishly green jacket and righted him on his feet. “Yeah, sure he is. And annoying.” She popped a new toothpick in. “Let’s get going, little brat?”

Gon looked up at her with a smile and nodded. “Hai!”

* * *

Hisoka grinned to himself as he walked with the man over his shoulder. She would be fun. So utterly fun to break. So enticingly delicious to destroy. So delectable to crush beneath his hands. Those dark emerald eyes were not innocent, he saw the way they glinted as her kunai hit his wrist. She had killed before and she was good at it, he knew it. He couldn’t wait to see her in action, see her kill a man. See her use her full power and rip a man’s trachea from his neck.

He wondered what her class was. He thought maybe an emitter since she sported the knives. But that seemed like pure power behind her throw. She had snuck up on him and gotten a good shot, just like that delicious little boy. He nearly trembled from the very idea of her power. He liked this game. He liked figuring it out. Now, he had two play things. Two savory toys to test out and see which crumbled first. The best part was that he wasn’t sure which one would dissipate first. Which one would prove more formidable than the other? Which one would disappoint him? Which one would push him?

He hummed at the very thought of going toe-to-toe with either of them. The boy was nowhere near ripe yet. But Asuka. Asuka. Oh she could be ready for the plucking, like a delectable fruit just waiting and taunting him as his mouth watered. He licked his lips as his pants tightened. 

He couldn’t wait to shatter the emeralds that sat in her skull. To snap her like the little toothpicks that sat so pretty between those sweetly pink lips.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the continued support, I truly am so grateful! I hope y’all continue to love and support this! Thank you for your patience and hope you enjoy! More hunter exam and another treat ;)

“Are you fucking with me?” Asuka gritted our, her jaw clenched tightly and teeth grinding painfully together. Her fingers twitched and ached to reach for her kunais but she stopped herself when she broke her toothpick. It snapped clean in half and dropped to the pretty stone beneath her boots. “Not a single fucking person?”

They had just spent the better part of the day being confronted by the examiners of phase two: Menchi and Buhara. They were so-called gourmet hunters or something along those lines. Asuka thought it rather foolish of a job title but stayed quiet when the pair introduced themselves. Menchi with her vibrant blue hair and Buhara with his staggering size were quite the odd pairing. Quickly they had gained a lot of annoyance with the fact that the phase was cooking. A fucking joke if one asked Asuka.

Buhara had wanted a pork dish and they were tasked with finding whatever fucking pigs they could. Of course, apparently the only available pork was from creatures that could easily trample one if they so wished and tried. And tried they did. Asuka got knocked down pretty badly at one point, inciting Gon’s worry and nearly getting the boy killed. However, he quickly figured out that the way to get an advantage was to get them from above and then hit them in the head. From there, Asuka fairly easily scaled a tree and eliminated a target. Dragging them back was a hassle, as she wasn’t as strong as the other examinees apparently. 

In all honesty, Asuka had never cooked a gourmet meal in her life. Barely could get rice correct. But she tried. And failed so miserably. Kurapika, Leorio and Gon (even Killua), has tried to make their pork presentable and even incited Machi’s rather annoying wrath, but Asuka just tried to make it edible. She didn’t care for the earful that she received because the skin was charred but the inside was too rare. The fuck did she know about cooking pork? She grew up eating from the trash can at points. Hyro was kind enough to help her with food but always gave her the rice to prepare, as he was picky about his tempura and wanted it perfect. Or his fish or chicken. She was surprised she even got the pig somewhat cooked.

But when the petite gourmet hunter showed the sign with an “X” and called out “Failed!”, Asuka swore she accidentally let a little Ren slip. Menchi had opened a closed eye and cocked one of her infuriatingly blue brows before Asuka turned and stormed away in a fury. She probably had already gone through five toothpicks already. It was incredibly wasteful and she knew it. But it wasn’t her fault. Buhara had even liked her pork! He liked everyone’s! He ate it all! Menchi didn’t touch anyone’s! Except a few. 

Now, she had the audacity to announce that EVERYONE failed the second phase?

Though, she wouldn’t be lying if she said the one examinee getting punched by Buhara was rather entertaining. And the whole chewing out of Hanzo by Menchi was enough to elicit a chuckle from Asuka.

But Menchi’s whole spiel had grown incredibly tired very quickly. The whole knife show wasn’t even impressive. Asuka could do that as well. She had scoffed and rolled her eyes, earning Killua’s quiet humor. The rest of the group simply stayed quiet and turned their heads away as if they were accepting of such a fate. Asuka wasn’t.

Her fingers twitched once more for her kunai.

“Even so,” an ancient man’s voice echoed into the air over a speaker, “not passing any candidate is a bit strict.”

Asuka glanced up into the sky, weapons forgotten and a new curiosity welling up inside of her. A massive air blimp was whirring overhead. The blue balloon floated across the bright sky and Asuka managed to pick out the esteemed logo of the Hunter Association on the side of the blimp. The two “X’s” connected at their points and the red diamond filled in the inside of their connection. It was a rather intriguing logo, Asuka knew that, but it was odd seeing it on the blimp. She wondered if it was the head, or just someone who oversaw it. And if they were here now, had they been able to watch the whole time?

Odd.

All of a sudden, a figure appeared and began rapidly approaching the courtyard they all were in. Asuka watched in quiet fascination as the figure landed in the dirt pathway, creating a storm of dust and dirt that pulsed through the group of examinees. She gave a small cough, inhaling a bit too much of the kicked up dirt and turned her head away for a moment. The cloud began to dissipate and all Asuka could hear was whispers and an oddly comforting clack of wood against dirt. 

She looked up and spied the man who had fallen from the blimp to the ground below. He was old, as Asuka assumed he was the man over the speaker. His white hair was pulled up and a beard and mustache covered his chin and lips. Large pierced lobes hung from his ears and a white robe that somewhat resembled a yukata with blue detailing. His aura was absolutely devastating.

Asuka knew he was the head, she didn’t even have to hear Menchi confirm it.

She did, however, listen in on how the man went by “Chairman Netero”.

“This is getting rather taxing for my patience,” Asuka murmured, watching the exchange between Menchi and Netero with waning interest. 

Killua gave a soft sigh from her left, his eyes closed and his face portraying the same boredom one could see in Asuka’s downturned lips. “It isn’t how I thought it would go,” he muttered in response, resting his hands behind his head and interlocking his fingers.

Asuka grabbed a new toothpick and popped it between her lips, kneading the wood with her teeth. “And how did you think it would go?”

“Eh,” Killua puffed out, “deadlier?”

Asuka smirked with a satisfied hum. He was good. A brat, but good.

“Th next task shall be hard-boiled eggs!”

* * *

Asuka leaned over the edge of the canyon with mild disinterest. Though heights had never been her thing, she wouldn’t say it was utterly horrifying. She had scaled a few buildings once or twice in the better parts of the city. It often played in her fortune that she had been small as a child; she was lanky enough to get onto ledges and scale up high rises where people left their windows unlocked. Any falls would have undoubtedly killed her, but she had yet to fall to such a fate. She was sure that there was something about those webs that spanned the mouth of the canyon that would allow some secret way to return to the earth they all stood on. 

She let her mangled toothpick fall and descend the vast chasm, letting out a low whistle.

“Far,” she commented, pulling back and looking at Gon and Killua. “Should I push you brats in?”

The boys looked at her rather quickly, threatening to break their necks with such whiplash speed. Widened blue and brown eyes stared up at her with mild fear and Asuka could only chuckle at their vivid reactions. Oh she would get an absolute kick out of scaring the shit out of them. Her rule was ensure they made it. It wasn’t to not tease them.

She reached out and ruffled both of the boys’ heads with a smirk. “I’m shitting with both of you.”

Menchi looked down, standing to the right of Gon. She had a small smile on her pretty features and Asuka looked back down to where the examiner was staring. She squinted her eyes and she finally caught sight of little nests of eggs, nestled together and hanging from junctions in the web of the-

“Those are the spider eagles’ eggs,” Menchi informed, a proud tone to her voice. 

Netero’s wooden shoes clanked across the mountain’s rocky terrain as he closed in from behind the pack. He began speaking on how the eggs were difficult to collect due to how spider eagles nested them. They specifically chose canyons, or in this case, a split in half mountain. They were a rarity and deemed “Dream Eggs” by those who ate them due to the way they tasted like pure heavenly delight. 

Asuka began to grow more and more interested in jumping, as she knew it was exactly what Menchi would be doing.

“It’s exactly what you think it is,” Menchi teased one examinee with a pleased smirk. Asuka turned and watched as the Gourmet Hunter took a step and dove from the edge. It was like she had done it hundreds of times before, confidence absolutely exuding from her bright aura. Asuka has to admit, the hunter wasn’t all that bad in some ways. Uptight about food, but she supposed it was for a reason.

The teal-haired hunter fell rapidly, air rushing past her as she dove so elegantly. Asuka watched in awe as Menchi grabbed the web perfectly, spinning around it like a bar in gymnastics with ease. A nest of eggs was below her, practically inviting her to come get one. Teasing her to let go and just accept her fate. Or what many thought her fate would be. Some whispered on how she would return.

“Even if she gets the egg, how is she getting back up here?” Leorio, who was still battered from taking that wicked fist from Hisoka, leaned over and questioned. 

Asuka peered over her shoulder at him as they waited for Menchi to make her move. “I’m sure she’s got some trick up her...” Asuka then paused and looked at the examiner’s...riskier outfit, “sleeve?”

“Like what?” Kurapika muttered softly, standing behind Gon.

Asuka shrugged but returned her interest to the sight before them all.

It was then that Menchi dropped and all the men erupted into surprised chaos. Asuka rolled her eyes but watched Menchi’s form as she spread-eagle in her descent, reaching out and grasping an egg without changing form. She allowed herself to keep falling into the mist, confident and secure.

“She jumped!” Leorio panicked, his premature worry slipping through. “She’s basically committing suicide.”

Asuka chuckled as Kurpika told him that she was indeed not going to die. The woman could only guess that there was a way to fall onto the eagles or that there was a powerful enough draft that could push you back up to the top of the mountain with no worries. However, Asuka also had to guess that it was timed and that Menchi knew the cue for when a gust would arrive. It was probably a small hint of wind normally not present otherwise.

Menchi rising quickly up the canyon wall with a massive egg, a smile of pure delight and satisfaction tickling her features, was all Asuka needed to confirm her theory. It was the draft.

“This should be exciting,” Asuka grinned at the two boys she stood between, patting them on the backs. They both grunted and nearly lost their footing.

“Hey!” Killua scolded Asuka, wiping down his hair and smoothing it while Gon just chuckled with a small blush to his nose. It elicited a chuckle from Asuka.

“Well,” she cracked her fingers, “what’re we’ve waiting for?”

Gon and Killua smiled up at her. She tossed a raised brow to Kurapika and Leorio, who after sharing a look and shrug, looked over at Asuka with a firm nod of their heads. What an adorable pairing they were, she thought briefly before turning and attempting to dive as best she could off the cliff.

The moment her face was impacted by the free fall, she had to squint her eyes for just a moment. It was enough to nearly impair her judgment but she self-corrected with an excited whoop and stretched her arms out, fingers tingling to grab a strand. The wind whipped at her pulled back hair, grey bangs thrashing wildly across her face. Her cheeks began to hurt as her smile widened, also suffering from some serious wind burn. 

Within moments, the web came within arms reach and Asuka tilted her body so she could grab onto the material. Her fingers wrapped tightly around the web and she immediately regretted it. A sharp pain ripped into her right shoulder as her body jarred, a crucial mistake in her form making itself blatantly obvious. She had tightened her joints instead of relaxing them, causing her body to come to an abrupt stop unlike how Menchi had done. Asuka winced and gritted her teeth at the throbbing that now encased her entire shoulder and ached down like snakes into her chest and bicep.

She hissed as the somewhat slick but grainy material beneath her white knuckled grip began to shake as more and more examinees joined her and the four. Gon was to her right, then it went Killua, Leorio and Kurapika. They all seemed fine, not nursing any throbbing joints. She set her lips in a thin line and focused on the nest of eggs below her. It was her goal. Well that and to not drop so early that she died.

“Mmmm, seems we’ll be sharing,” a suave giggle floated into her left ear. “How’s that shoulder?”

Asuka groaned and turned to see Hisoka hanging beside her. If there was any way to casually hang from a fucking web, a moments notice from falling to your death, Hisoka had the posture mastered. He even swung a little where he was, as if kicking on a swing like it was the best time of his life. His bright, yellow honey eyes didn’t look at her with a glare this time and instead twinkled with amusement. Yet she still failed to read him. It was infuriating. 

“Far less irritating than you,” Asuka muttered as she turned her attention back to the nest. A part of her was tempted to mess Hisoka up so he could either not get one or just fall to his death. The latter seemed far more appealing but it was also a shit way of taking out your competition. That wasn’t Asuka’s style. “Interested in children?”

Hisoka gave a deep chuckle from her side. “Just in potential fights,” he cooly explained as if it should have been obvious from the beginning. Asuka pursed her lips. She supposed she could relate to that. Perhaps it was why she even took a liking to Killua. He had potential. He didn’t have control over his aura yet but he would. So would Gon. And it would be beautiful.

The web began to lose grip with each passing second, ignorant of the screams as men dropped way too soon and fell to their inevitable deaths.

“Now!” Gon cried out, releasing from the web and falling. Asuka, without a moment’s hesitation, released the web with pleasure and fell how Menchi did. Hisoka followed suit but once the wind was rushing past her, the clown was forgotten.

She focused purely on her target: the second egg on the second row. She reached out as she approached and ripped the egg out with surprising ease. Asuka looked at it in front of her, the mist starting to surround her as she continued her descent. For a moment, she wondered if she had dropped too soon. But a roaring updraft pushed against her with a fury and she felt her body lift back into the air. She gave a childlike giggle at the feeling, adrenaline rushing through her and numbing her senses. Her heart pounded in her chest and ears. Blood rushed through her with wanton abandon. Her toes curled at the very feeling of weightlessness, savoring the feeling for as long as she could. It was so utterly intoxicating.

With a beaming smile, Asuka watched as the wind pushed her up and back onto the mountain’s top. Some examinees were sitting around or waiting, no egg in hand and no plan in sight to jump. She really couldn’t blame them but it was an utter rush. And she had a feeling while it may not be common, hunters had to be ready to jump off just about fucking anything.

As soon as her boots hit the stone, Asuka stumbled with a chuckle. Gon and Killua landed by her, eggs in their hands and smiles on their faces. 

“I want to do it again!” Gon exclaimed with glee, his smile wide and eyes gushing with wild youth.

Killua even was laughing and smiling, hugging his egg to his loose over shirt.

Leorio and Kurapika eventually followed suit, landing awkwardly only a few feet from the trio. Leorio’s oddly swollen face was wind whipped and red from the experience but a smile as best he could manage was still decorating his puffy features. Kurapika’s blonde hair was a bit tousled but still hung over his smiling face.

They joined them, and the quintet shared eager smiles and interest in how the supposed dream eggs would taste. Asuka looked over the four boys with her and couldn’t help but grin at their company. She barely knew them, yet they were the warmest people she had ever met. It was...homey. It was comfortable. It was warm, despite the normal frigidity of who she was and how interactions with strangers were. It was like, perhaps, she could ignore what her goal was and just focus on living in the moment with the four. They seemed content on it too.

* * *

Hisoka stared the back of Asuka’s grey mane with aching intensity. Her aura was so green and delicious, it lapped off of her in waves that Hisoka just needed to get a taste. Just a small lick. A drop of it even. Anything really to see what it would taste like. He wondered if it would taste like sour apples or perhaps even something woodsy? He wondered if those little emeralds knew more than she let on. She was strong, he could see it so vividly through Gyo, focused solely on her for the moment. But something was off. 

He couldn’t quite place a finger on it, and his nails tapped across the shell of the dream egg he had retrieved. She was such an enigma. Such a pretty toy. He knew he’d have fun with her but he wasn’t sure when he could. He just had a feeling she would be an Emitter and he began to question that. Her personality didn’t fit. Or from what he had seen at least. Or perhaps he didn’t know her enough to say it with confidence. He needed to see her more. He needed to see her fight.

Ohhhhh~, but he didn’t want to spoil it for himself. He wanted to experience her full power for himself. He wanted to feel her aura wrapping around his throat. He wanted her little knives dancing across his flesh. He wanted her to think she had the upper hand before he came in and ripped her apart. And he could have her little friends watch.

Especially Illumi’s little brother. The little boy could watch as he tore apart the grey haired enigma. He could watch as Hisoka separated her limb from limb. A wretched streak of jealousy tickled his spine, forcing him straight up. He wondered if the Zoldyck knew her class? If he knew more about her Nen than he did? Hisoka felt his eye twitch for a moment. He’d definitely make the boy watch, and he was sure Illumi would be okay with it, who wouldn’t be? It would be entertaining to say the least and he knew Illumi would even enjoy it. So long as he didn’t jump in. She was _his_ fight. _His_ toy to break.

His eyes caught her snapping that damned toothpick between her pink lips and spitting it to the ground. Hisoka’s eyes followed her lithe hands into her right top pocket, extracting yet another fucking toothpick. He need to know what that rather tedious habit was about as well. He needed to know everything about her so he could shatter her until she was nothing but shards of what she once was. The very idea was just so arousing. To break something so utterly and completely? Hisoka moaned quietly, focused purely on _his_ enigma.

He smirked as he looked down at the ribbon that sat in his free palm. The black fabric threatened to be whisked away by the harsh wind, but he quickly clenched his fist. He looked back up and couldn’t help the way his eyes narrowed and his lips curled at the vision of her grey hair whipping freely in the wind.

She’d have to tango with him at some point.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello y’all! I hope everyone is doing well and I hope y’all enjoy this chapter! One of the longer ones and a little bit more on Asuka! Can’t wait for phase 3 to start! Thank you for the continued support!

Asuka rubbed her shoulder with a wince, hissing in pain as she tried to massage the sprain. She had not been able to engage in Zetsu so that she could try and recover as best she could for however long they were on this airship. But she wanted to do it in a private place so she could focus her aura into her aching shoulder. And she wanted to find a spot away from literally everyone else. She needed rest and she needed to do that alone.

“Let me introduce myself to the forty-two candidates gathered here,” Netero spoke clearly to the group. Asuka pressed her thumb into the meaty part below her shoulder by her collar bone, further groaning but finding a sweet spot that found release at the massage. “I am the Chairman of the Selection Committee for this year’s Hunter Exam, Isaac Netero.”

The odd, green creature from the first phase piped up from next to him. “I’m his secretary, Beans.” 

Asuka smiled at the oddity who had only been kind to her.

Netero continued on explaining, hoping for everyone to understand why he only showed his face now and not during the last phase like he had planned. Menchi had forced his hand, as he was not about to have every single applicant fail this year. Asuka wasn’t surprised and she thought it was somewhat obvious that didn’t require extra explanations.

“The estimated time of arrival at the next destination is eight in the morning tomorrow,” Beans explained with a small smile on his little green face. Asuka wondered if that meant she’d be able to get some rest. “Food has been prepared at the canteen for everyone. You can also take a rest.” Asuka released a deep breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. She needed some rest. Desperately.

“You are free to do whatever you please until the time we get in touch,” Beans added as a final thought, big but beady eyes staring at the clock behind them.

“Gon! Let’s go explore the ship!” Killua exclaimed without much hesitation. Asuka smirked at the way his aura seeped from him in soft waves. He couldn’t see it or probably even feel it, but Asuka saw the way he seemed at peace with Gon by his side. She would have to watch it over the rest of the exam.

She reached down before her, messing with the hair upon both of their heads, eliciting groans of embarrassment and annoyance. “No invite, Killua?”

The white haired boy reached up and tried to force Asuka’s hand away, making sounds of disagreement. 

Gon looked up at her, his brown eyes wide and a grin plastered on his face. “Would you like to join us, Asuka-san?”

Asuka stopped for a moment, retracting her hands but frozen in all other ways. She crossed her arms and chewed harshly on her toothpick. Her dark eyes began to look away from the boys, growing incredibly interested in the night sky outside the windows. “No, no, it’s fine, go have fun, brats.”

“Whatever ya say, Asuka-san!” Gon giggled before turning back to Killua. He put his hands on the boy’s covered shoulders. “Let’s go!”

The two paid no mind to Asuka as they darted around her and pushed towards the open door. Her eyes trailed their backs, watching intently as they darted around the corner. She hoped they wouldn’t get into too much trouble, and she hated to admit it but she wished she had stayed by them. She could say she knew Killua and even a little bit with Gon. But now she was left with Kurapika and Leorio. She had only interacted with them when with Gon and Killua, and despite what she may claim, Asuka was not good at making friends. She was certain she got lucky with Killua.

“I don’t understand how they have so much energy,” Leorio sighed tiredly, a patch now covering where Hisoka had so graciously gifted Leorio’s face with his fist. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and Asuka watched as he slouched out of exhaustion. “I need to rest.”

“I believe I do too.”

“Yeah.”

Asuka met Kurapika’s grey eyes and she smiled with him at their tandem agreement. 

The trio shuffled in their turn and they began to walk out of the room where some examinees still straggled about, speaking with one another and admiring the impressive view. Asuka snapped the toothpick between her lips in half and flicked it away to the floor. She reached into her toothpick pocket and quickly withdrew another thin rod of wood. She popped it into the corner of her mouth and began her process.

“Why the toothpicks?” Kurapika asked suddenly, his voice filled with an inquisitive kindness.

Asuka raised her brows and looked over at the blonde boy out of the corner of her eye. She shrugged. “Calms me down, I suppose.”

Leorio huffed and pushed his wireframe glasses up higher on his nose. “It’s not safe to chew them while walking. Or better yet, it’s not safe to chew them during the Hunter Exam.”

Asuka smirked. 

“What are ya, a doctor, Leorio?” Asuka teased, nudging him with her elbow. They were surprisingly easy to talk to.

Kurapika stifled a laugh and Leorio only shot him a look. He rubbed the back of his tired neck and sighed, “I want to become one.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to,” Asuka offered kindly, hoping it was the right thing to say. His demeanor had changed when she teased him like that and she hoped she had not crossed a line or said something hurtful. It would be terrible on her part. “Anyways, I’ll see you two in a bit, yeah? I need to get some food and then rest.”

Kurapika nodded with a firm smile and Leorio just waved her away, though she could tell he was hiding some north under his exhaustion. She tipped two fingers away from her forehead and stuffed her hands in her pockets as she turned to go down the hall to the canteen.

She couldn’t help but wonder what sort of food there would be. She wasn’t a picky eater but she couldn’t help herself sometimes in wondering what the level would be. Menchi had royally pissed her off and seeing as she was on the airship, Asuka wouldn’t be surprised if her and Buhara had a role in what was served. As long as it wasn’t too rich or filling, she thought she should be fine. She would just have to remind herself when to stop.

Food was such a peculiar thing to Asuka. Perhaps it was due to growing up with barely any and remembering how much her stomach would rip through her with indescribable pain. But she certainly had an odd relationship with it. She supposed it was that she couldn’t care less what sort of food it was so long as she could eat it. She was shit at cooking her own, but she did appreciate when others cooked for her. It was always kind and she would always ensure appreciation was adequately dispensed. 

She missed Hyro’s cooking.

Asuka entered the canteen and only a couple people had made it already. They say at tables and ate their food quietly. It was paradise for her.

Asuka quickly followed the steam that emanated from the cafeteria like line and immediately felt her mouth water. Her eyes landed on the steaming pot of rice and katsuobushi. She smiled at the side dish and began shoveling rice into a bowl. She grabbed a spoonful of the bonito flakes and tossed them on top, satisfied with her masterpiece.

Asuka moved over to an empty table, placing her toothpick behind her ear, and began to eat, slowly of course so to memorize the flavor as she had a feeling she would not have this sort of meal for a while. The bonito flakes seemed to evaporate on her tongue with the rice steaming inside of her mouth. The salty perfection was a delicacy to her starved tastebuds and she enjoyed it in its totality.

The food lasted a whole five minutes before Asuka was finished and ready to get some rest. She dropped off her bowl at the cleaning station and tossed her chopsticks into the trash. Her fingers reached for the toothpick and she rested it back between her lips as she began to roam the halls in search of a quiet place to heal and sleep.

A few stragglers passed her here and there but overall, she was alone. Something she thrived in. If she could live the rest of her life alone, she knew she could die happy.

And she could get her work done, which probably would end up killing her anyways. She also needed to update the list at some point. It would be foolish not to. If it wasn’t ready by the time that license was in her hands, then perhaps this would be a waste of time. Of course the license wasn’t necessary, but her pride and the appeal of ease of which she could then complete her list said otherwise.

Asuka found a door that said vacant, a green slip visible under the sliding button. She gave a sigh of relief and pressed the button, pushing the door open to the silent room. A small cot sat on the wall and a sink and toilet was on the other side. It wasn’t prime real estate but she was never picky. It was better than what she had dealt with in her life. 

She pressed the lock button and sat on the edge of the cot, trying to move her shoulder as much as she could. It forced an eruption of pain all the way to the tips of her fingers and she growled in annoyance.

“Ahhhh fuck this,” she muttered, sterling her resolve.

With a cry, she pulled her arm back out of its socket, twisting it through the pain until she could feel that her aura was cooing to her that that angle was perfect. She gritted her teeth and slammed her arm back into its socket, correctly this time. Her shoulder screamed in protest but for now, this would work. It was a shifty job and Asuka could do better but she was too tired. In her sleep, she knew her body would work on itself and heal as much as it could. It was the best case scenario.

She flexed her somewhat numb fingers and flicked her wrist a couple times, just to make sure it all worked correctly still. Satisfied that her functions weren’t horribly impaired, Asuka walked over to the sink. She turned on the water and began cupping it in her hands. The water cooled her face as she splashed it up, cleaning her somewhat grimy features. She wasn’t in a horrible state of cleanliness but she knew she could freshen up a bit.

Asuka grabbed the sides of the sink and looked into the small mirror. Her emerald eyes stared back at her, deeply fixating on every imperfection she’s ever had. A small mole sat above the corner of her lips. A scar from Hyro cut through her grey brow. One was shapelier than the other. One eye was wider than the other. Grey hairs fell down into her face, obscuring her vision and she huffed in annoyance. The mane fell to the middle of her back and was quite the burden but she enjoyed the way it complimented her freckle-spotted fair skin.

She reached back to retire her hair, thinking the tie had gotten lost in the mess but she couldn’t find it. Asuka ran her hands through the flat waves and raised a brow at not feeling the tie. She wondered when she would’ve lost it. 

Nope, she was too tired to deal with this at the moment.

Yawning and giving a stretch, Asuka treaded back over to her cot and fell back onto it. It jarred her with how uncomfortable it was but perhaps she could accept the fact that it would undoubtedly be one of the best sleeps she would ever get. She curled onto her side, her body’s memories taking control and forcing her knees to her chest as she shut her eyes with a final hum. She drew her aura into her core, hiding it from others and allowing it to flow through her aching body.

* * *

“ _It’s like your body refuses to let itself learn,” Hyro commented, his raspy voice stirring Asuka from her meditations. “You have been with me for years and still struggle to uphold some basic practices.”_

_“Maybe it’s due to my class?” Asuka offered, secretly hoping he would allow her to take the water divination test. He had put it on hold for five years._

_The old man shook his head and took a drag from his pipe. It stayed within him for a long and painful moment before he released the smoke from his cracked lips. “You’re not ready.”_

_Asuka groaned in exasperation. “When will I be, shishou? It’s been five years!”_

_The old man sat quiet as he stared out onto the blue water. Light reflected off of the natural pool’s surface, dancing with the small ripples. “Most people learn Nen as children. The older you are, the harder it is to learn. You came to me as a rat, starving and shaking and drenched in years of being seen as gutter trash, yes?”_

_Asuka thinned her lips and turned her head away from the man she called her teacher. “Yes,” she muttered._

_“And how long is your list?”_

_“Fifty-four.”_

_Hyro hummed. “Asuka-kun,” he started with a sigh, taking another drag of his pipe, “you hold so much anger in your heart.”_

_“And?”_

_“And it isn’t even personal. You must do better. You must open your mind and forget this list of your’s.”_

_Asuka rolled her eyes at the old man. A fucking pacifist if she ever saw one, yet a hypocritical one at that. He was fine with pushing her to her very brink every time yet was worried about hate? She blew out a harsh puff of air._

_Hyro placed a wrinkled hand on her shoulder. “You must control that anger, Asuka-kun. Your bloodlust is quiet palpable without it.”_

_“So? Who cares if people feel it?” she muttered with desperate exasperation. She couldn’t care less if people knew she was trained in Nen. It was just bloodlust. It maybe could kill someone but otherwise, she’d be fine. It’d keep people away from her at least._

_Hyro’s fingers dug into the joint. His voice took on a harsh edge, “We both know the reason you struggle is because you lack control. I fear for your own mind and body should you learn your class and develop a specific Hatsu. You must learn control first, then we shall perform the test.”_

_He retracted his hand and dug into his robes, pulling out a pack of toothpicks. He tossed them over to her and she grabbed it from the air without even looking. Asuka turned the case around in her hands, curious as to what he had given her. She flipped the cap open and a hundred toothpicks greeted her._

_She shot him a look. “Toothpicks?”_

_Hyro finally looked down at her. He smirked, the pipe hanging out the corner of his mouth. A cloud of smoke trailed from the opposite corner. “Twenty five of those a day. Focus your aura into your mouth so to keep you from choking.”_

_The old man left her alone on the deck overlooking the water. She turned back to the toothpicks and grabbed one, fiddling with it between her fingers. It was thin and while not malleable, she had a feeling it wouldn’t last long. Asuka popped it into the corner of her mouth, focusing her aura into her teeth and lips and cheeks and tongue. But within a second of biting down, she had snapped the toothpick in half._

_She spit out the halves and grimaced._

_This would be harder than she thought._

* * *

Asuka woke with a start, jerking out of her sleep. She sat up and turned her body so her legs could hang over the edge of the cot. With a sigh, she ran her fingers through her somewhat messy hair and scratched the top of her scalp for some unknown relief. Dreaming of her times with Hyro was never fun. She didn’t like to be reminded. He could be kind sometimes but other times, he ruled with a sharp tongue and iron fist. He knew exactly what nerves to pinch.

Asuka fixed herself up in the mirror, splashing some water in her face and swishing some between her cheeks. She spit it out and made sure she had everything she needed. She wasn’t sure what time it was but her internal clock had her feeling as though it was close to the eight am call time. She opened the door and rolled her shoulder to ensure her aura had done its job last night. It gave a loud but satisfying crack.

She smirked and stuffed her hands in her pockets, reaching for her toothpicks. She flipped the cap open and grabbed a rod of wood, withdrawing her hand to place the toothpick between her lips.

“Your bloodlust is simply,” a certain clown’s voice sang from behind her, “divine~”

Asuka bit down on the toothpick and turned her head to look over her shoulder. Hisoka leaned against the wall, one foot propped behind him and his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were closed but she knew they didn’t have to be open. A smirk had crawled over his lips and Asuka couldn’t help but feel threatened.

“You seem to not be able to...” he trailed off, tilting his head back and tapping his chin with one of his sharp nails, “control it.”

Asuka snapped the toothpick.

Hisoka grinned.

“I can control it just fine,” Asuka gritted out, knowing the lie was as plain as day but trying to pass it off nonetheless.

Hisoka pushed off the wall and faced her, resting his hands on his hips. He flicked one of his feet out, resting on the slight heel. He tilted his head, as if...examining her. “It was...rolling off of you all night.” He licked his lips.

Asuka blew out the two halves of her toothpick and set her jaw in place. He was baiting her. She knew it. She had control of her bloodlust. Hyro ensured it. There was no way Hisoka had felt it. No way.

“I don’t believe you,” she warned lowly, her emerald eyes blazing in annoyance. 

Hisoka raised his hands in mock defeat. He began to slowly approach her, only needing a few steps to enter her personal bubble. A part of her raging at the fact that she didn’t sense him. A part of her was raging at the fact that she knew he was right, that she didn’t have control. She still used those damn toothpicks to try and control her aura. It appeared that even after months of the habit, it hadn’t done its job.

Hisoka leaned down, his spine-chilling smirk visible from her vantage point. She rolled her eyes but kept herself still, ensuring to not back down even with his head practically resting right above her shoulder. His cool breath hit her face and triggered a rise of goosebumps over her right side. The little painted star and tear drop on his face were in plain view, clashing with the light face paint he obviously wore. 

“Sour apples,” he cooly whispered. Asuka ground her teeth together in growing frustration. “They never truly were my cup of tea,” he paused for a moment and Asuka glared daggers as his face turned towards her ear, his words directly whispered into her ear, “but I suppose I could adapt my tastes.”

Asuka, letting her cool slip and letting Ren waft off of her in a threatening display, reached into her pocket quickly and grabbed a kunai. She turned within the blink of an eye and held it under Hisoka’s chin. Red was starting to cloud her vision but she could see the utter glee in his bright, honey yellow eyes.

“If you ever,” Asuka ground out, no longer caring for control, “come close to me again, I will simply dig out your trachea and make you eat it. Got it, Hisoka?”

That was a mistake.

Hisoka was wearing a chilling grin now, his bright teeth on full display. He even pressed his chin down onto the blade’s tip, drawing a dribble of blood. Asuka felt her lip start to pull back into a murderous snarl. She could kill him right then and there. Netero had not said anything against it. Who would mind if she killed the prick? He seemed to want her to anyways. Plus, it would be easy. She could make quick work of that fucking grin. Perhaps she’d even widen it. A sick and perverse part of her mind egged her on, whispering wretched fantasies of murder into her ear.

“Like I said,” Hisoka sang with a small moan, “absolutely divine~” He licked his bottom lip and Asuka was about to drive the weapon up into his jaw-

“Examinees, we have now arrived at the location for phase three of the Hunter Exam!” a voice chimed our over the intercom, sounding familiar to Beans.

Asuka blinked and withdrew her weapon from Hisoka’s chin with a twirl of her blade. She flipped it back into her pocket and took a deep breath. She took a step back, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a toothpick. Placing it between her lips she nodded to the clown, who honestly seemed oh-so-disappointed. A small pout now covered his lips.

“I’ll see you in phase three,” she muttered, running a stressed hand through her grey mane. She had fallen for the fucking bait and she was a dumbass for it.

Hisoka straightened up, his pout still obvious on his lips. “Hmm,” he hummed. Asuka watched in disbelief as he reached forward and grabbed the toothpick from her mouth, placing it between his lips with a smirk. Without another word, he walked past her, intentionally clipping her in the shoulder. 

She watched him with wide and furious eyes. “I’ll kill you,” she promised quietly, bunching her hands into fists at her side. She knew she couldn’t compete with him in Nen but she could sneak up on him. She could stab him right in those yellow eyes that seemed to shine brightly with murderous glee. Oh yeah, she’d rip him apart. Limb by limb, she would cut him up with her knives. 

Hisoka would now take a spot on her list.

* * *

Hisoka rolled the toothpick between his lips, his tongue catching to try and savor any taste from Asuka. He wanted to see what the appeal was, as he too was a creature of habit with quite the addictive personality. But the toothpick chewing was rather boring and plain, something he wasn’t a fan of. However, the woman’s lips where the toothpick had resided for just a moment...now she was not boring and plain. He had grown so...pleased by her Ren. Her bloodlust was so palpable he thought he might go and fight her then and there. He wanted to see it full force.

He wanted to see the green engulf her body, mirrored in those dark eyes of hers. He wanted to know her class too. Such an enigma she was. His enigma of course. She wasn’t an Enhancer; determined and driven by feelings? Yes. But simple or truthful? No. Transmuter? No. She wasn’t like him. She didn’t seem...fickle enough for that. Conjurer? No, she wasn’t cautious enough for that. 

That left three for Hisoka to sort through: Emitter, Manipulator and...Specialist. Emitter would make sense, as she was just as headstrong as Enhancers but she obviously snapped out of her bloodlust quickly. Quite an ability. But she also seemed like the type to never let anyone tell her what to do or how to do it, just like a Manipulator. And then there was her secrecy. She attracted the boys but seemed to still keep distant, not spending time with them or with the other two. 

Hisoka stroked his chin for a moment as he prepared to leave the docked airship. 

Just what class was his little emerald enigma?

A wretched smirk crawled over his lips as he pulled out the toothpick and put it with her hair tie. 

And when would she use her full abilities on him?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had safe travels to Yorknew! Happy September and can’t wait for this year to be over haha. Hope y’all enjoy this chapter and thank you for the continuous love and support! Pls don’t kill me for the end hehehe
> 
> TW: this chapter does contain some violence and descriptions of blood

One minute she had been lowly chuckling at the complete fool who had decided to try and scale down the tower, and the next, she was alone in a dark room. She groaned in annoyance and also in pain, as she agitated her shoulder. Of course she had landed on it.

“Fuck this,” she muttered, pressing on the sensitive joint. She currently laid on her back and stared up at the dark ceiling. She was sure there had been a trap door that dropped her into this room alone. She wondered if the others would follow suit, as Killua and Gon had not been too far from her. She even joked that she’d push them off onto the flying creatures that carried off the one sucker. But as she laid there, quietly wondering if she’d be stuck alone, she realized she would indeed be alone.

Especially when she turned her head and read the screen.

Asuka rolled her eyes with a groan and pushed herself up and onto her feet. She rolled her shoulder a few times, eyes darting across the screen that sat behind a small pillar. The pillar had a watch of sorts on it and she assumed she’d have to wear it. So she picked it up, not bothering to really look it over before clasping it onto her wrist. 

The screen was bright as she read over the “instructions”:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.

She had to roll her eyes at the poetic reference. How fucking ironic.

You have 72 hours to complete this phase. Being as you are one lone traveler, be careful as to which road you take to your destination. Whether it be the road less taken or one of ease, the decision rests on you and so do the consequences.

“Got it, seventy-two hours is all I give a shit about,” she scoffed and waved her hand at the screen. She didn’t really want to deal with any poetic bullshit that the examiner thought was cute or whatever. It was overdone to the point of destroying the point of the poem they referenced. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

A door behind her rattled open and Asuka turned to see a long hallway that led to another room. She supposed she needed to start, as immediately, her watch beeped and the time started ticking.

72:00:00

* * *

“Where’s Asuka-san?” Gon asked suddenly.

Killua turned towards his friend and then looked around, cocking a brow. Asuka had been behind them not too long ago. Sure they had gotten caught up in a conversation, the four of them, but he was certain she had been involved too. She had just been there making fun of the guy who got caught by those creatures.

“I thought she was right there?” Leorio guessed, nodding to right where Killua had been. The Zoldyck boy looked at the spot he swore she had been standing and then all around. 

He couldn’t even pick her out in the group of applicants.

But something seemed off.

“How many applicants were there on the airship?” Killua asked, looking back at the other three guys who made up their sort of group. Gon pouted and scratched at his temples, furrowing his dark brows. Leorio pushed up his glasses as he entered deep thought. And Kurapika brought a fist to his lips.

Killua thought it was around forty something.

“Forty-two?” Kurapika offered, seemingly at least partially confident on his answer.

That was good enough for Killua, because when he looked over the tower’s surface, there were far less than forty-two people.

He knew where Asuka was.

* * *

“This is boring!” Asuka groaned loudly, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Please give me a challenge! I chose the hard door for a reason!”

So far all she had done was complete riddles. Easy ones at that. She would come to a new room and to cross into the next long hallway, she would have to read the riddle and type in the correct response on a screen. Her watch would flash green and she’d pass through the door. She didn’t know what happened if she got it wrong but she assumed she’d be stuck until she got it right.

She’d done five riddles so far. All embarrassingly easy and disappointing. 

“You want a challenge?” a crackly voice buzzed above her.

She rolled her eyes and chewed harshly on her toothpick. “Yes please, that is literally what I am asking for.”

“Most people choose the easy path, assuming it will be easy,” the voice, presumably the examiner replied. “I suppose we can open a door to that path, as it will be the harder of the two. If we allow you to the other side, you will not be able to return to this path. Are you sure?”

Asuka was surprised a man with such shitty logic was able to become an examiner. The attempt at using reverse psychology was a little pathetic and easy to see right through. Though she had admittedly hoped the hard path was actually going to be hard, not this bullshit. However, she probably should’ve seen it coming as she now had wasted...

Twenty minutes.

“Are you going to open the path?” she asked up at the ceiling, tapping her fingers against her leg. “I’m on a bit of a schedule here.”

She heard a low grumble of annoyance over the speakers and within a moment, a side door opened up from the wall to her left. Asuka smirked and flipped off a camera she had spotted in the upper right corner of the room, before trudging through the new hall with a revived bounce in her step. 

Hopefully this would be more fun.

* * *

This was not more fun.

Asuka wiped sweat from her brow, a snarl lifting her top lip and baring her teeth. She hissed as another jab was thrown at her right shoulder, forcing her to lean left and step back once more. Hand to hand wasn’t her fucking style. Not when she was faced with a mass murderer who stood three times her size. Not when she had been fighting for well over thirty minutes and the man had failed to tire. She was growing fatigued and she was getting sloppy.

It was embarrassing.

“C’mon, kid,” the low rumble shook her from her thoughts as she continued her retreat. “Give up.”

Asuka gripped her kunai tighter and crouched low as she prepared to focus her aura into her legs. She repeated a mantra in her mind, visualizing the liquid that so warmly encased her body to wrap and power up her thighs in an attempt to boost her. If she could get to him fast enough, dart between his knees and slice the backs of them in an effort to slow him down at least. It wouldn’t take him down, but it would help. Or...

Her eyes darted for a split second to where his Achilles’ tendons were. 

That was risky. But Asuka looked back up at the man with a rabid grin.

“Ya sure, old man?” she hissed out, one hand planted palm down on the stone platform she was ready to launch from. Her energy was waning and in all honesty, she had to take the risk or she’d die. It was her only opportunity. Best to cushion it with some false bravado. “You could surrender, accept the defeat and go back to serving time?”

The older man, probably around twice her age, frowned and cracked his knuckles with a singular twist of his hands. That was repulsive. “I’m not spending a minute longer here than I have to.”

Asuka shrugged. “Your funeral.”

She flicked her wrist, sending the kunai roaring towards him with a slice of the intense air. He watched it carefully and easily plucked it out of its trajectory towards his left shoulder, a smirk curling on his lips.

“You’ll have to do better-“

Asuka had used that moment of distraction, propelling herself off of the platform with a silent growl. She quickly withdrew another of her knives and pushed through the gap between his legs. With a smirk, she skidded to a halt behind him and crouched low to swipe her kunai across the backs of his ankles. Blood spurted onto her face like a blown paint bottle, decorating her fairer complexion. Her eyes watched with wicked satisfaction as the man howled, dropping her distractor, of which she snatched from the air as she stood. He fell to his knees, clambering desperately to reach for the spurting lack of tendons.

Asuka watched in wretched curiosity as she began to circle the man, using her smaller kunai to slice quick cuts across his body. He grew easily and increasingly distracted with each slash, failing to keep up as she focused her waning energy into toying with him. She could kill him. But she decided she’d enjoy this one. It wasn’t her first and it certainly wouldn’t be her last. Plus, it made for good practice.

The man’s howls echoed in the vast chamber, the sounds bouncing off the walls and platform. What a despicable sight he was growing to be.

Asuka stepped back as soon as she had marked him up enough, blood stains beginning to decorate his pathetic wool clothing. Red wasn’t his color. She tapped the tip of her smallest kunai on her chin, admiring her handiwork. It was sloppy and she was lucky he was dumb enough to fall for her last ditch effort. He was not lucky she was tired enough to make a rash decision that would have killed her if he was a professional. How he had been a mass murderer astounded her. He probably just got lucky.

“I need target practice,” she muttered, stepping back a few paces and eyeing her favorite spots.

Heart. Between the brows. Liver. Eyes.

Which would she pick?

“You’re insane,” the man gasped out as he watched her with wild brown eyes. “You should be in here!”

Asuka chuckled. “I’m not the fool who got caught, so why should I be punished? I’m smart enough to make it legal before I kill.”

“Crazy bitch,” he spat, blood mixing with saliva. “What the fuck even are you?”

“Oh god not this spiel again,” Asuka sighed tiredly. It was always what are you or who are you? Never how are you, Asuka? How was your day, Asuka? Can I beg for my life, Asuka? She knew some mercy. She wasn’t a monster. Though she had a feeling that it was always asked because she lost control of her bloodlust and let it erupt around her. That was messy. “Anyways...I need better target practice so hold still so this goes fast please.”

He opened his mouth to yell in defiance but his face froze. A kunai jutted out from what used to be his left eye. The organ had exploded and blood and gore now decorated his frozen features. The intact eye rolled into the back of his head and with an unceremonious flop, his body collapsed to the blood-stained ground.

Asuka huffed and strode over to where his body laid. She inspected her aim for a moment before yanking the knife from his skull. “Eh,” she wiped the blood onto his shirt, “a few marks off but not bad, Asuka.”

She had hit right beside the pupil, not her best but definitely not her worst. 

Asuka pulled out her toothpick holder and looked down as she walked towards the rising walkway to the open door. She frowned as she realized her supply was diminishing. She thought she had gone through 20 a day but perhaps it had been more. Picking one out and putting away the container with a sigh, Asuka whistled a short tune as she left the carnage behind her. She was thankful that the four had not been privy to the site behind her. That would be difficult to explain. 

She wondered how they were doing.

Asuka looked down at her watch. 

62:00:45

* * *

She had passed two more fights, each easier than the last and only 45 minutes had passed. She could tell she was nearing the end. She didn’t know how she knew but she knew in her gut. But something felt off. Something felt like there was a set up. Like there was something waiting for her. Sure it had been hard, what with five fights in total. Only the third one had proven difficult but he was nothing compared to the blood stains on her white pants. That was fucking annoying. But it had generally been easy. 

Too easy.

Asuka pushed through a door and was greeted by a circular room. Before her was a door and to her left was what looked to be stairs from below. She had to guess that either she had to go down or something would come up. But the door across from her seemed like the exit. 

She hesitated to take a step. Something was off. So she stood still, crouching low even with her fingers ready to reach for her kunais. This had to be the last test. The last trial before she was finished. It had to be.

With a sigh, Asuka pulled in her aura, concentrating on Zetsu. It felt like the right move, her mind had screamed for her to engage in it. She didn’t know why but it felt right. Her intuition never failed her.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. There was a technique she could use, another form of Nen, but she wasn’t as good at it. And she didn’t want to risk making a fool of herself. Not when she was exhausted already. Now was not the time to practice or try something out. She had to stay focused.

Especially when she heard footsteps echoing from the staircase.

Asuka’s eyes shot open and her hand produced a kunai in the blink of an eye.

The weapon flew from her hands without much thought and embedded itself in the stone wall right before...

Examinee #44

Hisoka’s eyes widened marginally at the weapon before his very nose. The woman growled in annoyance at missing her target. A few marks off supposedly did make a difference. She thought she had timed it perfectly but Hisoka seemed to just get lucky, unfortunately.

He turned his head and a wild smirk curled over his lips as Asuka stood to her full height. 

“Just when I thought this wouldn’t be fun,” he sang into the room, placing his hands on his hips. Asuka’s eyes darted towards a rip in his shoulder, the fabric slightly red from blood. That could certainly work for her. She may be tired but she wasn’t injured. “This is nothing, just a...fan of mine decided to make an appearance.” He waved off his injury, drawing Asuka’s attention back to his face.

He sauntered into the space, a smug air surrounding him.

“How shall we do this?” Asuka asked, spinning another of her knives around her finger, fidgeting to project it at the star on his cheek. That would be quiet good target practice. “Nen or no?”

Hisoka turned his head towards her, tilting back slightly from across the room. “Oh, what’s the fun in that?”

Asuka shrugged. “None,” she admitted, refusing to move from her spot. “Though, it would be difficult in such a small space.” Her eyes wandered the room as if she was surveying the dimensions. But in reality, she was checking points in which she’d have her best view of him at all times. Sure it was a circular room but she just knew it would expose at least one of his weaknesses. Even one would be enough. It was the only way she’d be able to fight him. The only way she’d have a fighting chance. She was outmatched significantly. But she was smart and smaller than him. 

Hisoka’s predatory eyes darted around the room as well. He hummed like a song and tapped his chin playfully. “It would be rather quick.” He sounded disappointed.

“Oh?”

Hisoka gave her a Cheshire grin, their eyes pulling away from their surroundings and locking immediately.

In that moment, Asuka was able to rip his mind apart. She wasn't sure what came over her, as she had always been good at reading people in her opinion but Hisoka had been like a locked away chest when their gazes met. But in this moment, she was able to see what he was thinking. For lack of a better term she supposed. He was taunting her, he knew this was the last trial of the phase as well. He knew exactly how to trap her and what her weak points would be, as his pupils slightly dilated on certain joints when they passed over her body. He knew where to push her in the room and how to get on her nerves. He knew she wouldn’t back down and he was excited. He was so fucking excited. A lustful pink aura seemed to even steam in the yellow irises that showed nothing but predatory satisfaction. 

She smirked. He was an open book at the moment for her to read and play with from one gaze. He had let his focused mask slip and it gave her a chance. 

He wanted a fight, she’d give him a fight.

“Ready to dance?” she grinned wickedly, flashing a kunai for the clown to admire.

* * *

Hisoka was frustrated. 

He wanted to rip apart the examiner for this phase.

He wanted to rip their jugular from their throat and stuff it up their fucking ass crack.

He had been so close. He could taste her bloodlust the moment she released from Zetsu, and he nearly came at the wave of green that washed over him. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as his own, but god was it so delightful. She was so scrumptious, like a piece of sour apple candy just ripe for the taking. Perhaps a bit early for plucking away from the tree, but sour apples never seemed to go wrong in terms of that juicy release. 

The way her little knives had reflected her wild eyes was nearly enough to topple him over the edge. He could see she had put up a fight, as the blood (which obviously wasn’t her own) that covered her pants and cheeks was so tantalizing. He didn’t care if it wasn’t hers but he wanted to lick it off of her all the same. He had wanted to rush her, pin her against that wall and take his sweet time cutting her to pieces. He could imagine her struggling against his bungeegum. 

He had it all planned out in his mind once she grinned at him. He had been so excited. So ready. So close.

And then the fucking examiner opened the door. 

Her bloodlust had immediately calmed and Hisoka had never been turned off faster by such a display. She was too calm. Too collected. He had seen, for a moment, a hint. When they locked eyes, hers were still green but there was a dark glint in them that was reflected in her wild smile. She was ready. He didn’t know what flipped but something did and he craved it. He wanted to see that expression again. He wanted her to look at him like that again. He wanted her to even try and cut him. He shivered at the very thought of her knives actually harming her from her hand and her hand only. 

It was with silent agreement that they exited, Hisoka leaving first. They were announced as the first and second to finish. There was still well over two days left for the other examinees to finish. It was rather fucking frustrating.

Hisoka looked over to his side through the corner of his eyes, grazing over the sight of Asuka leaning against the wall with sleep holding her. Her head was tilted back and her lips were slightly parted, a stain of blood decorating the corner of her mouth. A splotch reddened her cheek and it took everything in Hisoka to not shift over and lick it away. It was just sooooooo tantalizing. Right there. Ready for him. 

He looked back at his card tower, the tenth one he had built out of pure boredom. Perhaps a part of him was happy they had not fought. He did not want his virginity of fighting her to be taken in such a way. He wanted to truly fight her, no strings attached. He wanted to rip her eyes from her head without hinderance. It would have been disappointing to fight her in such a cramped space with some form of rules. They were small but it did take the edge away, and Hisoka was not a fan of that. He supposed he would have to wait. He wasn’t a patient man but he guessed he could be just to make the fight all the better.

_ Ooooooooh _ their first fight. He sighed with closed eyes at just the thought. It made it even better as he had narrowed down her class type. He was still deciding between two but he had a feeling he knew what she was. He wanted to know her Hatsu so badly, but he’d wait. He’d wait for her to use it on him. 

Just the thought of them tangoing in a dance of violent gore was enough to make Hisoka tilt his head back with a soft moan.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for taking over a month to update. Life has been less than kind lately and I just haven’t been able to focus on pushing out a chapter. This chapter was mostly filler and those are always so hard to get out as well. Hopefully the 4K+ words and some more Hisoka interaction makes up for that! I’ll try and get back on a weekly or bi weekly schedule, but it’s whichever way I simply get a chapter out haha.  
> Thank you guys so much for the support and I love you all!
> 
> Stay safe and healthy  
> -P

For over two days Asuka meditated and fell into a small coma-like state. If she didn’t...she would rip apart the fucking clown who sat so close yet so far from her and watched her. She didn’t need to focus on his skin-raising gaze to know it rolled over her form more than once every five minutes. He tried to play it off, that much was obvious, but Asuka still felt his amber yellow eyes digging into her side. He was assessing her. For what? She could only assume he was curious or itching to imagine a fight.

She already had. 

Something had changed though during their standoff. She wasn’t sure what it was but something had clicked. She mostly spent her time in the trance-like state sifting through her aura, searching and digging for the feeling she had felt so quickly and suddenly. She knew it triggered something inside of her but she needed to know what. She needed to know what it was that had 1) nearly made her snap and 2) confident that she could take on Hisoka of all people. She had normally had such good control over her blood lust and looking back, she knew she should not have lost it so quickly. That was to be reserved for greater purposes, not some clown. There were targets who had their names engraved in the aura that surrounded her flesh so tightly. Not visible of course but they were there.

Of course, her mind had played out a hundred different scenarios as to how the fight could have panned out, something she found to be new. She chocked it up to be due to the fact that Hisoka was a tantalizing fight, one that could prove her strength. One that would be so sweetly deadly. One that would make her feel alive in every sense of the term. The adrenaline was already beginning to pulse through her once more just at the very thought of one move, which set off a chain of events in her mind. It all played out like a movie. 

She could pick a move presented to her and then run through a various set of actions that would occur due to that one move. However sometimes it got blurry in her mind’s vision and she would need a moment to recenter herself. Then she’d...press play per se, and she’d restart from when they were facing off. She couldn’t see who won each time but she was beginning to pick out some weak points on his body with each cycle she went through. They were rough estimates based definitely on what she had seen already, so not a lot, but it was enough for a general idea.

She wondered if all Nen users could do it. It would explain why men like Hisoka were so quick. Perhaps it was another discipline she had not yet mastered? That would make the most sense.

Asuka thought back to her training with Hyro, pondering if she had missed any key moments that would clue her in. Nothing truly stood out to her. She remembered all of the disciplines he had taught her, but none matched up with what she experienced. It was like she was watching a fight play out twenty different ways, but she chose each way every time. She could even replay it. That didn’t match up. But she wondered if Hyro would have hid something from her. That definitely was one of his qualities: secrecy. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had indeed casually forgotten to mention a discipline simply because he thought she wasn’t ready enough for it. 

Asuka scoffed.

Her eyes ripped open for the first time since she slumped tiredly against the wall, lurching her from her sleep. She groaned in annoyance, having hoped she would stay asleep the entire time in an attempt to get some much needed rest, but she had successfully healed. Or she thought so at least. Her aura had woven through her muscles and joints until she no longer felt an ache. 

Sighing, Asuka tilted her head back and rolled her shoulders softly. She reached into her pocket and popped out a good ole toothpick, smiling as the piece of wood sat between her lips like it was home. She was more than ready for the next phases, whatever they may be. She honestly thought—sitting there, hands clasped behind her head—that she would ace the next phases without so much as the blink of an eye. Perhaps they would be a bit taxing, similar to this tower of tricks, but she was sure that if she could conquer this phase, she’d be fine for the others.

“Enjoy your nap?”

Asuka nearly snapped her toothpick between her teeth, grinding down at the irksome sound that trimmed into her ears.

She turned her head slowly, releasing her clasped hands due to the disturbance. Hisoka sat with one leg propped up, the other stretched out before him and a house of cards sat at his foot. A card twirled between his nimble fingers, a light pink hue surrounding the playing card. Of course, a jester decorated the playing side.

“I suppose,” she muttered, narrowing her gaze on the clown. She looked up at the clock, a bright timer showing that they had a minute left before then seventy-two hours was up. “Unfortunately, it ended just a moment too soon. I almost went the full two days without your voice. Shame.”

Hisoka bent over, placing the card on the top pyramid of his tower. A smirk played on his lazy lips. “Hmm, I believe it’s a pity to go even a moment without me. You did seem excited to see me~”

Asuka’s eye twitched. Excited was certainly one way to describe her emotion. However, she knew exactly the connotation he was going for and that was certainly not the way she felt. 

“You view yourself too highly,” Asuka hummed, picking out her toothpick as a devious idea flitted around her mind. With a smirk, she flicked the piece of wood at the center of his tower, picking out the exact weak point with deadly precision. It flew through the air as a final door tumbled open, collapsing the tower quickly and efficiently. 

Hisoka’s bright eyes paused before glaring at her. Asuka feigned innocence and placed a hand to her lips in mock surprise. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Did I do that? Please accept my sincerest apologies.”

Hisoka opened his mouth to retort but he was long forgotten in Asuka’s mind once she saw who entered into the base of Trick Tower. With thirty seconds left on the clock, Kurapika, Gon and Killua exited the door. The three were covered in soot and dirt, a tired energy surrounding them. But their faces held smiles of relief and...surprise. Asuka beamed, something unusual for her. However, she had gone the whole time without realizing they had not passed as quickly as herself and the sudden realization that they could have failed hit her like a truck. They truly made it by a hair’s length.

Then, the announcer commed in the placement of Leorio and Tonpa, the twenty third and fourth participants to pass Trick Tower. Asuka grimaced at Tonpa’s appearance, but it was quickly forgotten as she realized the four had made it. She wondered how the hell the five of them got stuck together. And why did Tonpa of all people get so lucky to be with them? She wished she had been with them in all fairness. Then she wouldn’t have had to deal with Hisoka at the end. However, they also took nearly the full seventy-two hours and Asuka knew she would’ve lost her mind had she been there.

Standing with a quiet stretch, Asuka grinned at her...friends. That seemed right. Despite the fact that all of them, except Leorio, were children. Or she thought so at least. Kurapika had to be around sixteen...maybe? She couldn’t remember if he had told her or not. But either way, they were her friends, they had to be. She had gone her whole life without much in terms of relationships and she knew that the four of them were the closest she had ever gotten to friends. So that meant they were right?

“Asuka-san!” Gon cried out in excited glee, turning from his comrades to face her approaching figure. She had her hands stuffed in her pockets, fingers twitching against the pack of toothpicks. She’d wait to take another. Right now, she was focused on other things.

When she reached them, the main door opened to the outside, letting in bright sunlight. 

“Took you all long enough,” she smirked, patting both Killua and Gon on their heads. They groaned out of embarrassment, swatting her hands away but failing to do much damage to her display. “Was wondering if you five would even make it.”

“We would’ve been faster if not for Leorio,” Killua muttered, running a hand through his white mane.

Asuka cocked a brow. “Oh?”

Leorio suddenly turned beet-red, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling awkwardly. “Well, I wouldn’t say it was my-“

“Leorio-san made a bet and-“

Kurapika slapped a hand over Gon’s mouth, a light blush dusting over his cheeks. “I think we should just appreciate that we passed the phase, yes?”

Gon looked up at the blond with wide and confused eyes, mirroring Asuka’s own stare. She furrowed one of her brows, staring at the five males with increased curiosity. Killua scratched the side of his head, looking anywhere but at Asuka. Gon just seemed confused. Kurapika seemed embarrassed. Leorio was about as red as a damned tomato. And Tonpa just shrugged and whistled.

What the fuck happened?

“Ah,” Asuka tried changing the subject, “well I finished quite early and just slept. So not much you all missed?”

“The whole time?” Kurapika asked, slowly removing his hand from Gon’s mouth. 

“Mhmm,” she confirmed, turning to begin walking towards the main door everyone was filtering into. “Wasn’t very hard and I wanted to ensure I was well rested for the last few phases.”

“What about food?” Gon asked, jogging a moment to walk at her left side with Killua.

“Didn’t need it.”

“What about the bathroom?” he persisted. 

Asuka shrugged. “It didn’t once cross my mind.”

Leorio muttered beneath his somewhat ragged breath, “How the hell are you alive?”

Asuka was about to answer but Killua cut her off.

“Whose blood is that?”

The woman looked down, frowning as she realized she still had dried blood staining her clothing and skin. She swiped at the caked on substance, the red flakes drifting from her skin and to the stone ground below as they exited the tower as a quintet. “Had to fight a couple of guys. Some...felt like persisting.”

“We fought some prisoners too!” Gon exclaimed, a wide smile on his lips. Asuka cocked a brow. It wasn’t due to the fact that she was surprised by the matter. But it was so odd how Gon said it. He acted like it was...thrilling. His aura even seemed to spike. It was like he craved it. 

It rubbed the wrong way on Asuka’s nerves. Gon didn’t seem like a...normal kid. Though she supposed none of them were.

Asuka chewed thoughtfully at her cheek. “Took you all long enough,” she mused, casting a somewhat judgmental glance at the four, purposefully avoiding Tonpa. She was already annoyed he had made it.

“Thank Leorio for that,” Killua muttered.

Asuka looked over at the man who smiled bashfully and scratched the back of his neck with embarrassment. She didn’t even want to know anymore as to why they had taken so long. She had a gut feeling she would be either disgusted to embarrassed to even hear it. So she’d rather just avoid both completely and be thankful the four had made it through. Specifically Gon and Killua. She promised herself she’d help them become hunters. She wasn’t going to go back on that promise.

The group came to a stop when they met with the rest of the applicants, standing around outside the tower. Salty water kicked up into the air and kissed her cheeks softly, whispering sweet nothings of serenity. Asuka smiled at the feeling that the water gave, leaning into it’s almost sinful touch. The sun warmed her soul, gently coaxing it out of its cold shell that it had retreated to within the tower. Bird chirped and the air filtered through her lungs, replacing the dust that had taken residence in that dark tower. She felt renewed standing on the grass.

“Congratulations on passing the Trick Tower,” the examiner announced. He was...quite the character. An otherwise shaved head gave way to an auburn colored mohawk. Round glasses blocked out anyone from seeing his eyes due to the glare of the sun above. He was short, perhaps only slightly shorter than Asuka. She recognized his voice from when she had asked to change paths. “You now only need to pass the fourth and final phases. The fourth phase will be held on Zevil Island over there.”

He motioned behind him and Asuka peered around curiously, catching sight of the small island that was quite a ways away. It sat lonely in the water, perhaps holding no other purpose on this earth than for the Hunter Exam. 

“Please cooperate.”

The examiner snapped his fingers and Asuka watched as a tall bald man rolled a box over. She couldn’t really tell what was happening and it itched on her wearied nerves.

“For this next phase, you will need to draw lots,” the examiner explained, folding his hands behind his back with a smug grin. He was pleased as dissent started to rise. He tilted his head down just enough to eliminate the glare, revealing his pleased, red irises. Someone had spoken up, asking for the reason. He just smirked. “It’s to decide who will hunt and who will be hunted.”

Asuka felt a certain iron sweetness begin to tease her tongue at the very mention of hunting.

He motioned to the box. “There are twenty-four number cards in this box. In other words,” he paused, “these numbers represent all the current candidates. Now, I need you to come and draw your number card in the order you escaped from the tower. First place, please.”

Asuka shifted where she stood as the examinees curiously looked around for who had finished first. Of course they didn’t have to wonder long as Hisoka, radiating minimal but somewhat palpable Ren, strolled over to the box with a self-satisfied smirk. She wondered if it was the only way he could show emotion, smirking any time she looked over at him. Or he would hold a thoughtful blankness that merely would contort into that annoying tilt that threatened for Asuka to lose it on him. It was so incredibly infuriating and she didn’t know why. 

She dared to think it was because she knew he was better. But she quickly dashed that treacherous admittance.

Gon gave a quiet gasp beside her, drawing her attention from the clown and to the boy. His wide brown eyes betrayed him, focusing on the obvious cut on Hisoka’s shoulder. He seemed to steel himself just by seeing it, committing to something. Asuka pursed her lips. The boy was looking for something. Something much stronger than he could commit to and it was wickedly dangerous and reckless. She’d have to keep an eye on him if she could. It meant she’d have to work harder.

Hisoka drew out a card, flipping it for a moment before turning away from the box. Their eyes met for a fleeting second, burning with raging competition. 

Asuka stepped up, pushing a strand of grey hairs behind her ear as she ignored the mumblings behind her. She put her hand into the box, digging around for a moment before her fingers seemed satisfied with the hard card they had decided upon. She drew the card out, faced with a similar blankness as Hisoka. With a hum she turned back to the group, narrowly avoiding #301 with a side step. The rattling man raised the hairs on the back of her neck, alerting her to something she hadn’t realized before.

He was a Nen user as well.

Asuka blanched at the late realization, continuing back to where she had stood earlier. 

There was a vicious difference in the Nen he used versus that of Hisoka. Both were controlled, incredibly so. But 301 held a quiet violence to him that threatened to make Asuka quiver in mild fear. It was so...emotionless. So...volatile. Yet it held him together in that rattling form that had seemed to slip right past Asuka’s defenses with no problem. It was frightening in all senses of the word and Asuka was growing far more nervous with this new phase. What if he was to hunt her? He had to be so skilled that it wouldn’t matter in the end how hard she tried to evade him. And if she were to hunt him? She was sure she’d be unable to pass his defenses.

“Asuka-san,” Gon whispered, nudging her arm softly, “you okay?”

Asuka ripped her wide eyes from the now retreated figure, turning towards a curious Gon and suspicious Killua. 

“Do you recognize him?” Killua mused, his blue eyes darting to the blood on her clothing before returning back to her.

She calmed herself down with a wry chuckle, putting up a somewhat weak façade but holding it up all the same. “He just reminded me of someone I used to know! For a second I thought I saw a ghost!”

She winced at how badly she was lying. She could even feel Hisoka burning a hole into her side with his smug eyes. She dared a glare towards him.

He was smirking.

* * *

Hisoka was somewhat disappointed it had taken his sweet apple so long to sense Illumi’s Nen. He must have put too much faith into how ripe she was, as her ramrod straight spine and deer-wide eyes were pathetically obvious when she realized it. He had higher hopes for her and a part of him thought he should just kill her for the disappointing turn of events.

Was she even worth the energy?

Hisoka tapped the corner of the thick and hard card on his chin. His eyes roamed over her uncomfortable figure as she shifted in place. He watched as her fingers twitched at her side, undoubtedly wanting to reach for her little knives he thought to be so heavenly sinful. Instead, she reached for a toothpick, placing it between her pink lips with a slight quiver in her fingers. But...it didn’t seem nervous. Well not intentionally at least. 

Hisoka tilted his head for a brief moment, watching as her eyes darted around precariously; deep emeralds that were ripe to shatter beneath his grasp. He could feel the way they would cut into his flesh, drawing small droplets of blood that accumulated in dribbling rivers. Of course he could easily manipulate a cloth over the wounds until Machi came around again to fix him up. But he doubted such precious gems could truly cause that much harm. No, he wouldn’t let them.

But there was something so off about her aura at the moment. It was like a wild animal had become caged, furiously building up tension and looking for an escape. Hisoka hummed amusedly but thoughtfully as well, raising a thin brow at the way Asuka’s muscles tightened and relaxed in tense rhythm.

Illumi’s brother suddenly pulled her arm down, yanking her to his level before ripping out the toothpick and flicking it away. He muttered something to her, carefully ensuring Hisoka’s little toy did not hear (though the boy always seemed blissfully unaware of anything and everything happening around him). 

Hisoka felt his eye twitch. 

What was the runt saying? Asuka was not his to control. Not his to play with. Sure, Hisoka was contemplating killing her quickly just to spare himself the energy and honestly he still was seriously considering it, but she was his target. He didn’t care if the damned card read #88 when it revealed itself. She was going to be a target, should he have the time. But who was he kidding? He would have enough time if he cared. Perhaps he’d even add #99 to his list, the little shit enjoyed hearing on his nerves enough as it was.

Though Illumi would be annoying to deal with.

And deadly.

“Peel off the stickers on the back of the cards to reveal your targets!”

Hisoka jolted slightly, annoyance quickly coming over him as he realized he had lost track of time. All because of that Zoldyck and his apple.

He sighed and peeled the sticker off the card gently, his nails catching the sticky material with ease. The sticker came off without difficulty and revealed three digits.

384

What a bore.

He quickly turned his eyes up to Asuka, curious as to who she might have. Despite her apparent nonchalance, he would be able to tell who she got just by the way her muscles tensed. Watching her throughout the exam had keyed him in to some important tells. 

But...

All she did was smile lazily like this would be the easiest thing in the entire world.

* * *

Oh, she would be just fine for this phase. 

She knew exactly who her target was and she was positive she could get their badge within the first day. Then, she would be able to hide out, engage in Zetsu and not show her face the next six days after. She’d be impossible to find if she slipped back into a meditative state. Well, not impossible because 301 still might be able to find her with the strength of his Nen, but she liked to think she could accomplish her task. She needed to have confidence in herself. She could do that. She would.

Asuka leaned her head back against the wood of the boat, soaking in the delicious rays from the sun. It was honestly a beautiful day out and she was grateful for the lucky weather. Despite her earlier anxiety (though that still nibbled at the back of her mind with increasing ferocity the closer they got to Zevil Island), she was finding some peace as the briney air tickled her nostrils. Ocean spray dusted her cheeks and she smiled softly at the refreshing atmosphere.

Kurapika and Leorio were off somewhere, as Asuka got the sense that they were growing close. She could see they connected instantly, something that she found herself quietly envious of. Even Killua, the first person she connected with both during the Exam and outside of her time with Hyro, was off with Gon. She was alone. Again. It irked her the wrong way. In a matter of days, she had simultaneously grown close to and been separated from people all too quickly for her liking. She wasn’t used to it. It was like whiplash that wrecked havoc on her neck.

And her precarious heart.

“Mmmm, what do we have here?”

“Fuck off,” Asuka groaned with her eyes still shut soundly. She was not in the mood. But her sunbathing was interrupted as darkness hovered over her, darkening her eyelids and erasing the pink that cued her in to the sunlight.

Hisoka hummed a tune. “And why would I ever do that? Hmmm~”

Asuka peaked one eye open and flared as harshly as she could.

“Fuck off, Hisoka,” she hissed, a sourness taking over quickly. Something about his smug little features immediately clipped a nerve. She wanted him gone.

Instead of acknowledging her subtle release of Ren, he plopped down onto the deck next to her with a smile. Or perhaps that was why he sat down, legs crossed and one hand supporting his body by pressing flat against the wood of the deck. “Mmm, don’t think so.”

Asuka ground her teeth together and immediately grabbed for a toothpick, despite her low volume. She pushed it between her teeth, gritting away at the weak wood to ease her growing frustration. She wasn’t even sure what snapped. It was like the stupid star and tear drop just elicited a visceral response. For a moment, she was back in the circular room, tongue swiping at the stranger’s blood on her lip and humming in wild satisfaction.

“Wanna know something?~”

“No.”

“If you tell me your class,” Hisoka cheerfully began to negotiate, “I will tell you my target.”

“No.”

She could hear the pout on his lips as he whined. “Oh c’mon, don’t ya wanna know?”

“No.”

“Not even a little?”

“Hisoka,” Asuka sighed, turning her head finally and glaring icily at the clown, “if you don’t shut the hell up, I will take your badge. Target or not.”

Hisoka grinned, dropping Asuka’s suddenly regretful stomach. He was sitting shoulder to shoulder with her, invading her space but not touching her. But he was still so close that she could feel his body heat. She could taste a slight tinge of sweet iron dancing with her tastebuds. She could pick out more hazel streaks in his amber honey eyes. She could see where the face paint was losing integrity. And she could see where one of the tips of the star below his eye was slightly smudged. 

A lone fuchsia strand of hair curled down from the rest, dangling over his forehead.

“Oh?” he whispered competitively. “You think you could take my badge?”

Asuka gulped but refused to back down. She couldn’t now. She had initiated. She didn’t want to look weak despite the very loud raucous doubts screaming inside her head. “I could kill you for it. I’d have no problem doing so.”

Hisoka’s eyes darted to her lips for a fleeting moment before returning to her hard eyes. Without warning, he once again grabbed her toothpick from between her lips and twirled it between his fingers for a moment. His tongue darted out and wetted his lips.

A damned smirk crawled onto his face as he sickly placed the toothpick into the corner of his mouth.

“Sour apples,” he commented oddly, seemingly satisfied.

Asuka rolled her eyes and turned away. “You’re sick.”

“And you’re six feet under,” he threatened, standing from his spot. He patted down his white pants, satisfied with the extent of their conversation. He did however lean down, letting the tip of the wood tickle the outside of her ear and whispered hotly, “I would watch that Ren of yours Asuka-chan, or you might be dead before the evening.”

He straightened and smirked before turning to walk away. But he paused.

“Oh,” the corners of his lips curled in a way that made Asuka’s heart stop, “I know now.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I’m so sorry about the wait. This semester was horrendous and I just was consistently trying to stay afloat. I hope everyone had a happy holiday season and I hope nearly 5k words makes up for my little hiatus! Thank you all so much for the support! I love you all
> 
> -p

Seven long days and Gon was exhausted. He wasn’t sure how he got them all out of the cave but he did it. He, Kurapika and Leorio were going to make it to the next phase. He refused to accept any other path. With Hisoka having allowed him to take his badge (something that caused a simmering hate to boil in his belly), he would pass with the six points. Kurapika and Leorio both had their six points as well, having both their own and their targets’ badges. They had beaten the trial. 

But Gon was searching for Killua.

“Gon!”

The young boy perked up, any sign of fatigue leaving his body at the sound of the assassin’s voice. 

His eyes met Killua’s and he smiled immediately. “Killua!” 

The pair exchanged a relieved thumbs up, happy to see one another at the finish line. They would live to see another phase. They would live to fight another day. They would become hunters, and Gon knew that for a fact. 

He immediately turned from his friend and searched for a certain man with wild hair that matched his volatile personality.

Gon blanched at the sight of Hisoka smirking smugly. But it wasn’t the smugness of his white painted face that caused for unease to drift through Gon. It was a very injured and near death Asuka dangling limply over Hisoka’s uninjured shoulder that bothered him so immensely. It was the way Hisoka popped out a toothpick from his wrist bands and began to fiddle with it with his lips. 

Something had happened. Something bad. 

Gon wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

* * *

Asuka tossed and turned, unable to seemingly find any form of comfort in her restless sleep. Her eyes were closed yet her mind saw no dreams. Not even nightmares plagued her. No memories decided to pay her a visit. She merely was just laying wherever she was with no hopes of waking or finding complete rest. 

She groaned in annoyance, reaching around for better purchase on her covers. Pulling them up, she snuggled into the warmth they provided with selfish abandon. The blanket held her in its soothing embrace, allowing for her to find some semblance of comfort. But the bed below was still hard as a rock and bothersome to her. 

“Why am I not surprised at your utter lack of peace in your sleep? Hmm?” 

Asuka’s eyes shot open and without much thought, her torso lifted off of whatever slab of a supposed bed she thought she was on. But before she could fully straighten up into a ninety degree angle, a hand paired with a violent wave of nausea forced Asuka to stop. Her abdominal muscles cried out in raging protest at the clenching position she was forced to hold due to the fingers that wrapped around her forehead.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Hisoka tsked at her, his claw like nails twitching sharply against her hairline as if itching to dig into her flesh. “The doctor said you had quite the concussion, so it is best to lay back, Asuka-chan~“

“If you do not remove your hand from my face,” she growled, wincing at the immediate pressure building behind her eyes, “I will personally remove it from your arm and cram it up your ass.”

Asuka couldn’t see the clown due to his pale hand stretching over her eyes, but she was sure it was for the best. The light was dimmed from what she could see through the gaps between his spindly fingers, but even that was a lot for her. 

She could feel a sharp increase in the bubblegum sweetness that tinged the air and Asuka lightly smirked at the reaction from Hisoka. But he still kept his hand tightly covering her eyes and she swore she felt a nail draw blood. He leaned in closely, his cool breath wafting over her nose and lips. Asuka considered if she was close enough to lean in and bite his jugular. He wouldn’t expect it, certainly.

“If you were the one doing it, I don’t think I’d mind~”

The sultry tone of his voice was enough to make Asuka nearly gag and she ripped his hand from her eyes. Hisoka gave a low chuckle as she hissed in pain at her own quick movements, retracting his claws from her scalp and allowing her freedom to sit up properly. If she had kept her eyes open, she was sure they would have rolled to the back of her head. Instead of lashing out in the ways she wished, she merely propped her elbows on her knees and laid her head in her hands, trying to quell the earth-shaking throbbing bouncing around in her skull.

Hisoka sighed, almost annoyed. He pressed down on her shoulder hard enough to elicit a small yelp of pain from Asuka, but also enough to force her back onto the bed. She huffed in utter hate for herself at the moment, keeping her hands planted over her eyes so she didn’t have to force them shut in defiance against the dimmed lights above.

“I would like an opportunity to fight you,” Hisoka hummed, his hand curling over her shoulder and once again digging into her flesh. It wasn’t enough to draw blood but Asuka hissed at the pressure on what she assumed was yet another sprained joint. She couldn’t remember what happened though. “So lay down and do not be so useless that I could kill you with my eyes closed. It would be an utter waste of such a delicious apple~“ 

With rapidly growing annoyance, Asuka reached for her kunai. However, as she patted down her pockets where the throwing knives should have been, she came up empty. Without much thought—or tact really—she took her hand from her eyes and opened them to look at the clown that undoubtedly stood over her bed. The lights above were glaringly bright and filled her head with such a violent tempest that she thought it might combust from the pressure. A wave of pain threatened to black out her vision, which felt incredibly familiar as she strained to keep conscious against the debilitating feeling.

She gritted her teeth so harshly that she thought she might break her jaw. “Where the fuck are my kunai, clown?”

Hisoka tsked, a blurry smirk twisting his thin lips. He brandished one out of nowhere, pressing the point to Asuka’s chin. It dug in deeply to make her wince and hiss at the sharp weapon’s pressure. She was sure it was starting to dribble out some of her liquid life. Asuka trudged through the pain from within and outside, tilting her head back and trying to keep her narrowed gaze locked with Hisoka’s. 

But it was difficult while laying down and having an undoubtedly horrific concussion.

His somewhat blurred figure leaned over her so closely that she could taste the bubblegum on his breath. Hisoka’s bright amber eyes were unfocused in her vision but she could see the radiant color rapidly finishing as the blacks of his eyes began to expand. She huffed in bitter exasperation as his nose came into her space, the sharp bulb pressing up against her own. He was officially crossing every fucking line known to man and Asuka would have obliterated his bloodline if her head wasn’t throbbing with the force of the strongest tempest.

Or so she tried hyping herself up.

“I could cut your face open and steal your lips for myself~” Hisoka purred, his words gratingly rich as a ringing began to fill Asuka’s ears. “They always do look so nice around those little toothpicks of your’s.”

Asuka’s nostrils flared and her fingers clenched tightly at her side. “Try me, clown.” A muddled and tired plan began to shakily piece together in her foggy mind. Distract him. She could do that.

The point of the blade dug a little deeper into her flesh, eliciting a hiss from her lips. She swore she was beginning to taste blood and her jaw ached from clenching it so tightly. Vision starting to blacken in certain spots, Asuka began to count to herself.

Hisoka’s lips were stretched into a sinister grin, obviously enjoying this moment of control. He thrived off of it. “Be careful, Asuka-chan, or your tongue might just join my collection.”

“Unfortunate,” she scoffed. Mustering up all of her willpower, and stupidly ignoring the growing pain in her skull, Asuka grabbed Hisoka’s wrist that held the kunai to her chin. She twisted it as harshly as she could, ignoring the searing pain that bloomed in her mind and shoulders. The clown’s eyes widened by a fraction and Asuka took this as her moment to reach up with her free hand and yank Hisoka’s hair back, exposing his white neck and pulsing artery. The kunai had not slipped out of his hand like she wished, but she was able to aim it at his vulnerable flesh.

She was now sitting up, invading Hisoka’s personal space just as he had done to her. He looked down his sharp nose at her with those widened amber eyes of his, excitement dancing in her reflection. His tongue darted out as he licked his lips, a smirk beginning to spread viciously. If it were not for the murderous Ren threatening to suffocate her, Asuka may have thought that Hisoka looked entertained. 

Deciding to not allow herself to be overpowered, Asuka released her Ren, eyes narrowing and head pounding so horribly that she wondered how she was alive at this point. 

“There are no rules stating I cannot kill you right now.” Asuka hissed, green eyes narrowed at Hisoka. The clown smirked, scoffing slightly even with the weapon pressing into his throat. “I’m certain quite a few people may even thank me.”

“Oh, Asuka-chan~“ Hisoka purred, his words dripping with nearly uncontrolled murderous intent. His eyes began to narrow just enough to appear lazy but she knew better. She knew he was narrowing his sights. She knew he was licking his lips in preparation for blood. “I thought you smarter than that, hmm?”

Asuka furrowed her brows in confusion but her question was answered when Hisoka began to move. She hurriedly attempted to yank his head back further, pressing the kunai deeper into his flesh. But he was too quick when she was concussed. He raised a hand and chopped down on her wrist holding the weapon, eliciting a gasp of surprise and a wince. Her hand completely folded, nerves tingling with a numbness that rivaled adrenaline after a bone break. The weapon dropped and using her momentary distraction, Hisoka pulled his head forward, smirking at the way his hair was slightly ripped. Asuka narrowly had time to avoid a good forehead-to-forehead, ducking to the side and losing her grip on his hair. 

Hisoka grabbed her neck, throwing her back down onto the cot, a sneer covering his white lips. “I could have left you on that island, little apple,” he hissed, the pet name taunting Asuka. He leaned down, invading the very air she breathed. Their noses almost pressed against one another again, their air intermingling and eyes hard set on one another. Hisoka breathed in deeply, “Do not make me regret it.”

Asuka grimaced as more pressure was applied to her windpipe, a few blood vessels undoubtedly popping a bit as pain coursed through her neck. 

“I’ll kill you,” she spat, straining to get enough air to speak at all.

Hisoka smirked, his fingers releasing just enough to where Asuka could breathe. His other hand came up and patted her cheek condescendingly. “I’d absolutely love to see you try, Asuka-chan!~”

He released her neck, standing to his full height. He crossed his arms over his chest, waving one hand to Asuka as he went to leave. “Sweet dreams, little apple!”

Asuka growled and lunged for him, but something stopped her. She couldn’t lift her neck. At all. She felt around her neck, unable to think of or feel anything that could be stopping her. It just felt like her neck. But the feeling of lifting her head felt like something was holding her down. Her fingers scratched at her neck and she knew she was staring murderously at Hisoka.

“What. The. Fuck. Did you do?” 

Hisoka tapped his chin, looking up to the plain ceiling as if he truly had to recollect what could have possibly happened. “Hmmmm~“ he hummed thoughtfully, a smirk dancing on his saccharine lips. He opened his mouth in an ‘O’ and pointed a finger up to the ceiling. He looked pleased. “Asuka-chan, did you know that Bungee Gum possesses the properties of both rubber and gum?”

Asuka deadpanned. “I’ll rip your fucking throat out.”

Hisoka clapped his hands, opening the door quickly. “Oh, I simply cannot wait!” With that, he stepped out and the door slid shut.

The woman sighed in pure unadulterated exasperation, looking up to the ceiling. She tried lifting her head once more but again, her neck was stuck to the cot. Rolling her eyes, Asuka took a couple deep breaths in and out. Hisoka was moving closer and closer to the top of her list. 

“Oh shishou, how disappointed you would be in my anger,” she muttered to no one. She needed a toothpick, desperately. But she also knew she was probably about to fall asleep soon. Adrenaline was wearing off quickly. Very very quickly, and the throbbing in her head was returning full force and with a wicked vengeance. The fluorescent lights above were growing brighter and warmer by the minute, forcing her eyes closed if she wanted to save her burning mind. 

She struggled to remember. Everything was coming up blurry and if she tried to push past the fog, her mind struck her back with a massive strain to her skull. It rattled her teeth, roiled her gut and ruined any hope she had for potential patience. She supposed she would have to wait for the temporary amnesia to pass. Or hope that it did. She could see figures. Tall ones. All she could glean from the fog was a painful hardness against her back, jolting her so violently that she went stiff. She could taste iron in her mouth at the very thought. Maybe a stinging pain popping up every once in a while across her body. But that was it.

Everything else was gone to her.

For now, she thought tiredly. For now, she would ignore the incessant need to know what happened. For now, she would let her eyes stay closed and think of her time with Hyro and to a darkness she really wished would consume her.

“Hehe hello!”

Asuka took a deep breath. Of fucking course the old man would show up.

“Hello,” she muttered tiredly, her aching body screeching in protest that she stayed awake. Her eyes stayed closed. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Netero gave a small chuckle, his old voice ringing a little too harshly in Asuka’s ears. “Just a few questions for the final phase, my dear.”

Asuka sighed and waved a hand up in the air, signaling for the old man to start. His smile was audible in the otherwise quiet room, and Asuka heard him setting down a paper and pencil. Probably for notes, she thought. She wondered, despite the pain, what the questions could be about. But Hisoka had mentioned something...

“Why do you want to be a Hunter, hmm?”

Asuka pursed her lips, moving one arm to lay over her eyes. The throbbing in her mind moved over to the front of her skull. It knocked viciously with each breath she took and each beat of her tired heart. “I have a couple of debts to repay. Having the license would make them much easier to carry out,” she muttered. It wasn’t false but it wasn’t completely true. She really just needed the license to murder the pieces of shit on her list without legal repercussions. Netero didn’t need to know that though. He would know later anyways.

He hummed, scribbling something down before tapping his bearded chin with the pencil. The tapping didn’t bother Asuka until it did. She huffed in exasperation.

“Which of the other nine applicants have you been keeping a close eye on?”

“Forty-four and ninety-nine,” Asuka answered instantly. “I don’t trust the former and the latter is someone I feel...” she paused, contemplating the best way to phrase the answer. In reality, she had grown close to Killua over the past days. Of course, she wouldn’t hesitate to fight him properly, but she wouldn’t kill him. Not like Hisoka. Hisoka she would try her damndest to kill. She just wanted Gon and Killua to earn their licenses, Kurapika and Leorio too. They all had shown her kindness thus far and even the two children called her Asuka-san. It made her heart clench tightly and she forced her eyes even more closed. 

“Ninety-nine is someone I would protect with my life.”

“Hmmmmm, interesting,” Netero noted, humming thoughtfully. “Finally, who of the other nine applicants would you not wish to fight?”

“Ninety-nine and four-oh-five, are a definite no,” Asuka answered without a second thought. She pulled her arm away from her face for a moment to scratch a new itch at the tip of her nose that began to bother her. “I also would want to avoid fighting examinees four-oh-three and four. Forty-four is someone I would like to fight properly.”

Netero chuckled as Asuka shifted slightly to grow more comfortable despite the bungee gum holding her neck down to the cot. She would punch Hisoka for that. “How interesting,” he hummed.

“What is?”

“Examinee forty-four seemed rather set on fighting you later.” Netero set his writing utensil down and scratched his bearded chin. 

Asuka scoffed, “Of course he would be. However, I’d rather fight him without rules and not held back by a raging concussion.”

Netero gave yet another old chuckle and Asuka heard him gathering his things as his shoes clacked loudly against the metal floors. Her arm found its way back over her eyes and she sighed deeply as she tried to let herself begin to relax. She needed to rest, engage in Zetsu, and hope that her body would work with her Nen to heal as quickly as she could. She needed to be ready for what she assumed could only be a fight for the next part of the Hunter Exam. The way that Netero asked the questions made it seem very much like it would be 1v1. But she wasn’t sure how they would go about it. The most logical way would be to create a bracket tournament but Asuka could also see Netero making it a you fight who you fight and if you win, you get your license. If you lose...well too bad.

Asuka would like it to be that way in complete honesty. 

And in all honesty, she hoped Netero didn’t make her fight anyone she liked. Or Hisoka. No, she wanted a real fight with him. A real, blood-splattering, teeth-grinding, soul-shattering duel to the death. She wouldn’t let him kill her anyways. She thought she was smarter. She should be. But the throbbing head made her rethink that.

Maybe she needed to get stronger. Well, not maybe. It’s a definitely. She needed to get much stronger so she could ensure her life.

“You understand that if you cannot compete in the next part of the exam, you will be disqualified, yes?” Netero asked as he pressed the door to her room open.

Asuka sighed in exasperation. “Yes. Just wake me up through the intercom when we arrive.”

“You believe you’ll be ready?”

No, not really.

“Yes,” Asuka lied easily, her throbbing head growing more and more painful. “I need to rest until we arrive.”

If Netero caught her bullshit, he didn’t make any mention of it. He only hummed in confirmation and the door shit behind him. 

Asuka smiled at the fact that she was now alone and able to sleep. She was sure that she had just been sleeping for quite some time, but she needed real sleep, not being knocked out cold. If she could go a couple hours without interruption, and able to consciously focus on sleeping and healing, then she was sure she’d be in a much better place. It wouldn’t be perfect—as her Nen abilities weren’t as good as she would have hoped and also, Nen could only fix so much before she needed real treatment—but it would be enough to make sure she would finish the exam. She hoped it would be.

She extended her Nen briefly, searching for confirmation that the group of four were still in the exam and relaxed as she felt them in a group together. They seemed exhausted but they were there. She smiled softly, unsure why she even thought they wouldn’t make it. They were smart, scrappy and...good. She had assumed they were still in it when speaking to Netero and perhaps his lack of correction just furthered her conviction that the boys had stayed in. She was glad her quick fear was unfounded. 

Sighing, Asuka shuffled on her back, twisting onto her side and pulled her aura back into her. She was so close to sleep that she didn’t even notice the bungee gum on her neck had released.

* * *

Gon and Killua walked to where Netero had said their friend was. He wagged a finger and said he would want to see them soon to answer a few questions but that it was okay to check on Asuka first. They wondered what had happened to her over the course of the seven days that led to the state in which they saw Hisoka carrying her in. Killua had seen her struggling over, gritting her teeth with blood trailing from her grey hair down her face. She showed the nice lady her own badge and her target’s badge, #34. Her right arm had hung lamely at her side and she looked close to death. The only reason they allowed her to continue, Killua had guessed, was due to her ability to deliver the badges as was required for the phase. 

Hisoka had come up behind her and caught her as she passed out, knees buckling and eyes fluttering shut quickly. Killua had shut his mouth, stopping him from saying anything in protest. He knew she needed help, and he knew that he wasn’t fit in the way the clown was. Killua had clenched his fists silently and showed his own badges to prove he passed the exam. Hisoka seemed pleased, adjusting Asuka so she laid limply over his shoulder as if it was no problem at all. 

On the boat back to the massive airship from Zeville Island, Killua and sat with Gon, Kurapika and Leorio. All four of them watched as Hisoka set their friend down and sat by her passed out form, not touching her but also not leaving her side. Gon argued with Leorio and Kurapika that they needed to get her from the clown, but Killua stopped his friend. He didn’t know why but something felt off. It was a stirring in his gut that made him nauseous when looking at Hisoka. It was like he could tell something was wrong. That the clown wasn’t doing this for good intentions. The toothpick between his lips and the hair tie around his wrist only furthered that uncomfortable feeling. It was like Hisoka was merely doing this to ensure something went his way. That Asuka turned out the way he wanted, not how she wanted.

The four instead decided to watch as Hisoka carried her up onto airship, flicking the toothpick onto the dirt below from the ramp. They then lost the pair. Killua and Gon talked for some time, and Gon revealed what happened between him and Hisoka on the island, much to Killua’s surprise. He revealed the badge to Killua, the duo looking at it with a mix of awe and anger: the former from Killua and the latter from the black haired boy. Kurapika and Leorio joined them some time later and they began talking about what they could have to do for the next phase until Netero announced over the intercom to be ready to meet with him, in order of badge number. 

That was how Killua and Gon found themselves traveling through the airship, looking for Asuka until it was their turn to meet with Netero. They wanted to see her, check that she was okay and just...sate their quiet worries. Killua hadn’t mentioned it out loud but he was worried for the grey-haired woman. He was...starting to like her. A lot.

Netero had pointed them to where Asuka was laying down but the pair of boys stopped dead in their tracks.

A certain clown was stacking cards in a tower outside of her door, as if guarding it absentmindedly. His lithe fingers delicately placed another set on top of the ever-growing tower, smirking as he undoubtedly sensed their presence.

“She’s sleeping, if you’re curious~“ Hisoka hummed contentedly, not tearing his eyes away from the card tower.

Killua felt Gon shift with bristling anger. “What did you do to her?” Gon asked...no, commanded for the older man to answer. Killua looked over and placed a hand on his friend’s slightly shaking shoulder but the boy didn’t react.

Hisoka smiled lazily, placing the final card pyramid on the tower with such delicateness that Killua would not have guessed the man to be capable of horrendous acts that rivaled his family’s own history. “Nothing at all. What occurred to her was purely of her own doing, Gon. I merely helped her~”

Killua stopped his friend from going after the clown who now leaned against the wall, still focusing only on his tower with such a smug smirk. Killua felt himself growing annoyed at the clown but he knew he had to keep Gon in check before he did something he regretted. He probably still felt the punch Hisoka had delivered to him and Killua wanted to avoid a reenactment of that if at all possible.

“She’s alright?” Killua tested, eyeing the clown suspiciously.

“Peachy keen,” Hisoka sang, turning to the boys finally, scratching the corner of his upturned lips with dramatic flair. 

Gon shuffled his feet. “Then why are out outside of her room?”

Hisoka rolled his bright yellow eyes, sighing out as if it was the most boring question ever. He turned back to his tower, flicking it down with annoyance. “I’m ensuring she heals in time for the next phase.”

“And sitting outside her room will do so?” Killua asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Hisoka scoffed. “To think you’re a Zoldyck and still don’t understand.”

Killua blanched and Gon stiffened at his side. He hadn’t told anyone but Gon, who then told Leorio and Kurapika. But no one else knew and Hisoka hadn’t even been with them. 

Hisoka giggled, beginning his card tower all over again. “Run along to Netero. You both have a final phase to prepare for, hmmm~”

Killua and Gon hardened their faces, glaring at the cross-legged man but both understood they couldn’t do anything against him. Killua sent one last look to the door that shut Asuka away from everyone else and patted Gon on the shoulder. He nodded for them to turn around and head to Netero’s room. Hisoka wasn’t worth it. They weren’t able to do anything.

Not yet.

Gon shot one final blazing glare at the clown before the two boys turned around.

“Do not put so much faith in someone you know nothing about,” Hisoka’s sing-song voice struck their ears. “Especially one like her~“


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! Sorry this one isn’t as long. I’ve been battling pneumonia and three covid exposures so life has been kind of hard. All the while I’m trying to get a manuscript finished for an editor and I’m just exhausted. I wanted to save the last phase for the final chapter so I hope that’s okay with y’all! It’ll be much better so expect a longer wait so I can make it longer and perfect! I love you all, happy new year and thank you for the continued support and love. Idk what I’d do without y’all!
> 
> love,  
> p
> 
> disclaimer: some violence at the end

“The fuck are you still here for?” Asuka growled as she stepped out of the room she had been sleeping in.

Hisoka looked up from his spot on the floor, a card in between his fingers as he was about to set it on his little tower. Asuka realized he must’ve just restarted one, as only the base had taken shape so far. A part of her was tempted to kick it out of spite.

The man gave a cheeky grin, tapping his cheek with the card. “It’s so good to see you alive, Asuka-chan.”

She rolled her eyes as she leaned against the doorframe. A sigh left her lips as she crossed her arms under her chest. “Part of me wishes I was dead so I didn’t have to deal with you anymore,” she scoffed.

Bubblegum sweetness teased her tongue. 

“I can arrange that,” Hisoka chuckled darkly.

Asuka shot a glare down to him, fingers twitching to reach for her kunai. The image of slicing his white throat popped up behind her lids every time she blinked and she couldn’t deny the sick pleasure such an idea brought to her. She would definitely relish in killing him when the time came. However, she dispelled the thought when she realized she was exuding Ren as was obvious by the twisted smirk playing on Hisoka’s lips. She scoffed and turned her attention to her nails, though she really never cared for such a thing, twisting her nose at the sight of one carrying dried blood around its bed. So, she began to pick at the scabbing brown blood absentmindedly.

“I’ll ask again,” she breathed out, “why are you still out here?”

Hisoka shrugged, turning back to his card tower and beginning to resume where he was in the construction of it. “I suppose it was to ensure you were okay~” he sang, a sardonic twist to his each and every word.

Asuka deadpanned, raising a brow towards the Nen user with a vapid lack of amusement. “Heartwarming.”

Hisoka smirked, a small breath of humor leaving him as he placed a triangle of cards on the next level of the tower. He produced two more and began to get lost in the pattern of card tower building. It was simple and easy to do, Asuka had done them when she was a child with Hyro. If she got lucky before him, she would find an old box in a dumpster and try to learn how to play with them. She was never very good with the games associated with cards, but she could build a simple tower if she wanted to. A quiet part of her mind curiously wondered why Hisoka engaged in such a bland practice.

“How’d you do it?”

Hisoka paused, delicate fingers hovering over the unfinished level of the tower. “What could you ever mean, Asuka-chan?”

“My class,” she provided. “How’d you do it?”

The clown resumed, the corner of his lips curling up as if this were some entertaining game. And perhaps it was to him. She had never done the water divination test, as Hyro refused to let her. He probably would have let her should she return back to his quaint home on the lake. But a part of her knew she couldn’t. He would know exactly how she had acted. And she couldn’t have that. She much preferred that he have only the image of a determined young woman ready to face the world in his mind. Not the one that stared back at her in the mirror. Never that one. That was the one he despised.

“Every class has very distinct personalities~” Hisoka hummed. “Do you know what class I am, Asuka-chan?”

“Transmuter,” she said without a blink. It was perhaps the easiest of questions. Originally she had thought him to be a conjurer, but she quickly realized that Hisoka’s Hatsu wasn’t physical. The cards weren’t any conjuring of Nen. They were very real. Asuka saw him pick them out of bodies and wipe them down to return to his wrist bands. Then it was only confirmed when he managed to hold her neck down so she couldn’t move. It was his Nen. And it wasn’t anything physical she could feel, so it had to have the properties of something sticky so it could hold her down. Thus, transmuter.

Hisoka flicked his tower, seemingly now bored with doing the mundane task over and over again. He shuffled the cards and placed them in his wrist guard, unaffected by the deck digging into his pale flesh. With a pat to his white pants, Hisoka stood up to his full height. 

Asuka glowered at the difference, now having to tilt her head up to meet the burning yellow eyes of the clown.

“Quite good~” Hisoka sang, tapping Asuka on the point of her nose. She sneered at him, tempted to bite the tip of his finger clean off if she could. Hisoka’s lips curled so sweetly, she thought she might puke. She needed to stop feeding into his murder kid perversions by losing her cool. “However, I’m certain you gleaned that from my Hatsu, hmm? There is another way.”

“Pray, do tell,” Asuka sighed with a roll of her eyes.

Hisoka leaned in, far too close once more and Asuka tried to pull away from him with narrowed eyes, but he pushed her back into the doorframe. His smirk was devilish, but not in the way an attractive young man may try to mascarade as he spends a night on the town. No. Asuka knew that evil and conniving smirk. It was only ever on a person’s lips when they knew something and they knew that information could be used against you. They knew exactly what you wanted to know and they reveled in it. They reveled in watching you squirm for answers, completely at their mercy just so you can have a taste of what they know.

“Transmuters...” he hummed lowly, just loud enough for Asuka to hear over her rushing blood. Her heart was thumping loudly. She felt adrenaline begin to course through her like a car weaving in and out of traffic in the city. She wanted nothing more than to kill him. Now. “We are...hmmm, fickle~”

“Who would’ve guessed?” Asuka scoffed, hands itching for her weapons.

Hisoka must’ve caught her twitchy movements because in the blink of an eye, he grabbed her right wrist. His nails dug uncomfortably into her exposed flesh and Asuka winced. He tsked, ripping her arm up so her hand was pinned to the doorframe. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Asuka-chan,” he threatened with a dangerous gleam in his yellow eyes.

“I would,” she nipped back, fingers twitching impatiently.

Hisoka’s tongue dart out and he licked his lips slowly. Asuka forced herself to keep eye contact, refusing to grow distracted by his odd acts. “I just can’t wait for our fight~“

He pulled off of her and as if he had a full blown death wish, he patted her on the head as he released her hand. Asuka’s eye twitched in pure rage, the very idea of engaging him in a fight in this moment becoming oh so tempting. She could see glimpses of the potential ways the fight could play out and she paused for a moment. It was the same way in the trick tower. She could see him doing it. She could see him throwing a card to his right. A missed swing to his left. It happened so fast in her mind and she couldn’t really hold on to the images for long but she saw them. And by the time she came back to reality, Hisoka was already walking down the hall.

She cursed under her breath and reached for her toothpicks, hoping to sate her habit. But her hand patted on an empty pocket and her eyes widened. Asuka whipped her head towards Hisoka and he hummed brightly with a little whistle for his tune. A pale arm was raised and in his hand was Asuka’s container of toothpicks. 

“I’ll kill you!” 

“I look forward to you trying~“ he sang back.

* * *

Asuka found the group of four as soon as the airship landed. She smiled softly as Gon squealed with childish glee at the sight of her. He cried out “Asuka-san!” and barreled into her with a hug. She allowed herself a moment of weakness she supposed and laughed as the boy hugged her. She ruffled his hair, earning a cry in protest, but the boy beamed up at her all the same.

Killua was more reserved but Asuka could see the relief in his bright eyes under the white hair that dangled over his face. He asked if she was alright, feigning disinterest but Asuka grinned at the boy and proceeded to mess with his hair as well. He took full offense and his face twisted into that of utter disrespect as he hurried to try and fix the hair she had so unfortunately ruined. 

Kurapika and Leorio both smiled at her, offering her their happiness at her recovery. She thanked them quietly, still not completely comfortable with the pair but satisfied with her relations to them. She wanted them to pass the exam. They had only been kind to her and seemed to also want the best for Gon and Killua. For that, she was grateful, though she struggled to truly comprehend why. She decided to ignore it and chalked it up to being that she felt responsible for the kids since no one else was going to be. It reminded her of when she was a kid, living on the streets with no one protecting her but herself.

Yes, that was it.

The quintet walked out of the airship and into a massive ornate courtyard, Asuka shooting mental daggers at Hisoka as she spied him chewing on a toothpick. HER toothpick. He must’ve felt her stare and he sent her a lazy grin, one that nearly triggered her hands into throwing a kunai straight between his yellow eyes.

She turned her attention from the clown and looked around the courtyard, pleasantly impressed by it all. It was far too luxurious for her tastes but she found it pretty she supposed. The old part of her wondered how much she could scavenge and sell on the streets. But she no longer needed to do that. Not since Hyro took her in. And definitely not after this final phase. 

She was going to be a Hunter. She would never want for a thing again. And once her list was completed? She smirked with a quiet chuckle.

“Hello gentlemen,” Netero greeted them as they lined up ok the white stones of the yard. He shot her a wink and Asuka smirked. “And miss. I hope you all got a good rest, hmm? This is a hotel owned by the Hunter Exam Committee, and it is where we will hold the final phase. Please make yourselves comfortable as you wait for the fights to conclude.”

Ah, Asuka grinned, that was why he had all of those questions. He was building a tournament.

A man in a black suit rolled out a board covered in a cloth and Asuka raised a brow at the dramatics. Netero pulled the cloth down and revealed a tournament bracket. “You will engage in a one-to-one tournament.”

“Oh,” Leorio deflated slightly to her left, “so only one person passes?”

“You only need one win to pass,” Netero corrected with a senile smile.

“That seems easy,” Asuka muttered as she crossed her arms. Leorio shot a wide eyed look at her from behind his wire rims and she shrugged apologetically. 

Netero chuckled and motioned towards an off-white strip along the bottom of the board. “This is the bracket we have come up with,” he seemed to giggle with glee as he ripped the strip away. 

Asuka’s stomach dropped. 

Gon was to fight Hanzo. She was to fight Pokkle. Whoever lost their fights would then fight. Then that loser would fight Killua. Then they would fight #301, the Nen user who had slipped past her senses. On the other side of the bracket was #191, who would fight the loser of...Kurapika and Hisoka. That loser would fight Leorio, and then that loser would fight whoever was the loser from the left side of the board. The last person standing was...a failure. 

At least in the eyes of the Hunter Exam Committee.

While Asuka did not worry for herself or even for Killua, she worried for Kurapika and Gon. The young black-haired boy stood to her right with a determined look in his eyes. But Asuka had seen a glimpse of Hanzo, if she stared deep enough into her memories that were still foggy and failed to come to her. He was trained. Gon, though talented and stronger than he should be, was not. The boy got lucky half of the time and Asuka worried this would not be one of those times. Then there was Kurapika. She looked to her left, past Leorio and Killua, to see Kurapika taking a deep breath with his eyes closed. She sighed. 

She wasn’t sure about this. 

Something felt off.

“Impressive, no?” Netero was pleased with his own work. “Every candidate has at least two opportunities to win.”

Pokkle and #191 seemed upset by the way the bracket was staggered. Asuka rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She really didn’t understand why it mattered. Though she would be a fool to not pick up the slight waft of fear in the air coming from the orange haired archer standing next to Gon.

Netero went on about how the more chances you got, the higher scored you were. He also explained how the questioning came into play and Asuka just decided to tune it out, thought not before hearing Killua’s dissent. She quirked a brow at that, shooting a curious glance towards the boy. He seemed upset. Offended almost. She looked back to the board and realized why. He was technically, according to the board, ranked lower than her, Hanzo, Pokkle, Kurapika and Gon. Assassin blood and he’s ranked lower than all five of them. She was certain it boiled his blood.

Netero went on about the way he couldn’t reveal their scores but described the way they scored them based off physical and mental strength, and impressions. Asuka didn’t really care. Whether she was rated last or not, she was going to become a hunter. She only needed one round anyways. 

“The rules for the tournament are simple. Weapons are allowed, cheating is banned, and if your opponent admits defeat, you win,” Netero explained. Asuka thought it was fairly self explanatory. “However! If you kill your opponent, you will be disqualified without a moment’s hesitation.”

Now that was rather bland. However, Asuka smirked at the thought of Hisoka having to fight and not being able to kill. How much of an utter...cock-block that must be.

She looked over at the clown and his eyes were already narrowed at her. The corners of his lips were tilted down just enough to convey his dissatisfaction but it only further Asuka’s humor. Either he was upset he couldn’t fight her, or that he couldn’t kill people.

Either way, Asuka snorted and turned back to Netero with a pleased grin.

“Let the final phase of the Hunter Exam begin!”

* * *

Hisoka was not pleased. Not at all. Too many rules and not enough...Asuka. 

He knew already that he would let the blonde boy win just to mess with his mind, that would be a real treat. But he knew he couldn’t fight Asuka unless they got to the very last round and he knew neither of them were doing that. She was too prideful for that and he was too easily bored to lose three times in a row. It just wouldn’t be smart. 

But in the hallway, when he had her pinned up against the doorframe and her Ren wafted into his every sense until it threatened to suffocate him, he barely could contain himself. She was so laughably bad at controlling her aura that Hisoka would think her to be completely unskilled. He would think her to have had her nodes forcibly opened and her life’s aura just easily flowed out like a broken damn. But if that were the case, she wouldn’t be able to engage in Zetsu. She wouldn’t be able to exude such a powerfully intoxicating Ren. She wouldn’t be the absolutely divine creature he had come to see thus far.

He knew it would be difficult to watch her fight. A real fight. Or as real as it could be for the first time. He hadn’t even run into her on Zevil’s Island. He saw her once she left and then not again until he caught her as she collapsed after proving her completion of the phase. She was in pitiful condition and he nearly considered dropping her and leaving her there in the dirt as she deserved for such a pathetic showing. But he wanted to know what happened. In the trick tower, she was covered in blood and a slightly crazed twinkle glinted in her emerald eyes. He wanted to know what was different.

Perhaps he had gotten carried away when he waited until she woke up from her unconscious state. Perhaps her sour apples had been a little too pleasing to taste in the air and he greedily wanted more. He wanted to make her exude as much of that delicious green aura as she was physically able. The fact that it wasn’t controlled made it even more...intoxicating.

Hisoka looked over at her, eyes trailing over her entire body. A silent part of him admitted her physique was quite attractive. But it wasn’t her physical stature that was so delicious to him. Perhaps a small part of it was but he wouldn’t admit that right now. 

No, it was her eyes. Those little emeralds he wanted to grab and crush into green dust within his fists. And her aura. He wanted to watch as the light faded from her eyes and her body went limp all the while that sour taste fizzled from existence like a dying flame. He licked his lips at the very image and he allowed himself a quiet moan. Oh it would be such a divine and delicious event. 

Perhaps the final blow would be him cutting her throat with a card. Or he could use one of her kunais to skewer her. Or he could come up behind her, pressed against that struggling and writhing form, and snap her neck. Or he could press into her all the while a hand clenched her strong throat and drew pretty designs on her freckled cheeks as he watched her struggle helplessly while the air left her lungs. The image of her dying with him so close. So intimately pressed against him. That was rather...intoxicating to think about.

Perhaps they would fight until they were naked, their clothes destroyed and Hisoka could admire her form one last time before he made it his. 

Oh, he could and would make her his in every single sense of the word. She was his to destroy. To crush. To kill. No one else could do it. 

#88 was his divine apple. And he couldn’t wait to rip out her core


End file.
